


If Divided, All Will Fall

by MoonShadow269



Category: Pokemon Ranger
Genre: Angst, Dark Past, Eventual Romance, F/M, Love Triangles, Some Humor, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-10
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-03 17:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4108903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonShadow269/pseuds/MoonShadow269
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winston Churchill once said, "If we are together, nothing is impossible. If we are divided, all will fail." Crimson, assigned to the region of Oblivia with her partner Benjamin, comes to realize Ben's feelings for her. But when a top ranger is needed in Almia and Ben is assigned to that post, what will Crimson endure when her partner is reassigned?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fletchling Fledglings

**Author's Note:**

> Rating: M overall, but T for this chapter.  
> Warnings: Horrible Pokemon puns and similes. Dramatic OCs and a protagonist with a different name.  
> Word Count: ~4400  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any spin-offs associated with the franchise.  
> Notes: Murph is taking advantage of the fact that people are absent. Also, please forgive his smugness. Murph may seem OOC, which is due to the fact that I've only played Guardian Signs out of the entire Pokemon Ranger Series. The first few chapters (I'm estimating the first seven or so) will consist of events that either happened prior to or during certain important occurrences in the actual game.

Murph looked over his green, worn-out plastic clipboard, a somber, steady look in his eyes. I felt my shoulders tense in anticipation of a rejection: a carefully worded apology that I hadn't made the cut. A muscle in his cheek twitched and suddenly he was grinning like a wild-eyed Gengar and shaking his clipboard like an Aipom on caffeine. "Congratulations, Crimson! You've passed with flying colors!"

A rush of adrenaline passed through my veins and my head spun as a wave of relief crashed over me. I locked my knees to keep myself upright and couldn't help smiling when Murph strutted over to Professor Hastings with an overzealous, triumphant smirk on his face. "She's one of mine, you know," Murph drawled, throwing an arm around the older man. "I taught her everything she knows about captures!"

Professor Hastings stared evenly at the smug brunet, ignoring the heavy arm that had been slung around his shoulders. "Then I look forward to reviewing the responsibilities of a PR representative. I hadn't been aware that training recruits or announcing the results of an examination were part of the job requirements," he said coolly. Murph's cheeks flushed and he quickly withdrew his arm, tucking it behind himself sheepishly. "Regardless," Professor Hastings continued, nodding in my direction. "Congratulations Ms. Arithorne. It is a pleasure to welcome you into our ranks as a ranger." He glanced at his watch and nodded towards the double doors to his right. "The partnering ceremony will begin shortly. I suggest you go to the dining hall and help yourself to some food."

"Have fun!" Murph added, glancing nervously at Professor Hastings. Just as the doors swung shut behind me, I heard the brunet stammer something about a friend "asking him for a favor" and how he "just wanted to help out". I stepped away from the examination room and drew in a deep breath, unable to suppress the jittery disbelief that rose inside of me. Swallowing a delighted shriek, I took a few breaths to compose myself and strode towards the cafeteria, overwhelmed by the thought of entering the dining area as a full-blown ranger.

The excitement was short-lived, however, when everyone's eyes turned to stare at me the moment I stepped into the dining hall. Flushed, I scanned the room for a familiar face, growing more uncomfortable by the second. The few newly-appointed rangers I remembered training with all sat at fully occupied tables and most of the seats around the room were taken. My gaze eventually landed on a cheery-eyed stranger who waved at me when I made eye contact. Relieved, I headed over to her as calmly as I could.

"Congrats on passing," she said when I slipped into the seat across from her. She brushed her blonde hair out of her brown eyes with a smile. "I'm Jamie Richards."

"Summer Arithorne," I replied. "But you can call me Crimson."

"Crimson?" The blonde leaned forward, an interested smile on her lips. "I wish I had a cool nickname like that. My name's too short to have a nickname."

"JJ Supreme?" I suggested. Jamie sniggered and posed, flicking her bangs to the side dramatically.

"The one and only," she purred, fluttering her eyelashes. Her smile grew when I laughed and she ran a hand through her hair sheepishly. "Sorry, I tend to be a little on the dramatic side. I hope my partner doesn't mind, though!" She tapped a rhythm against the tabletop with her nails. "I hope the personality test assigns me to someone who enjoys theatrics."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. To be honest, I'm a little more worried about partner Pokémon."

"Most partner Pokémon are electric types," Jamie said, "and the Union usually chooses different partner Pokémon for each group of new recruits. But I know that top rangers get to pick their own partner Pokémon. The only downside is that it takes six or seven years, a boatload of good luck, and a big mission to become a top ranger," she sighed, staring mournfully at her fingers. "Most rangers don't get a big break even over their entire careers!"

"We'll just have to hope and see then," I murmured. Jamie furrowed her eyebrows, but her petulant expression dissipated into curiosity. I glanced over my shoulder just as Professor Hastings and Murph reached the front of the cafeteria and various servers began to place uncovered dishes onto the tables. The PR rep glanced nervously at the Chief of Technology but beamed when several people in standardized ranger uniforms stood up and saluted them. Around us, new recruits shared bewildered looks but stumbled to their feet nonetheless.

"Who are the people in the front?" I whispered.

"Top rangers, I think. Maybe staff members?" Jamie hissed back. She frowned, rethinking her words and correcting herself. "No, I think they're just rangers. Staff members and top rangers wouldn't be wearing standard uniforms." I nodded and returned my attention to the podium at the front of the room, where Murph was mimicking the crowd's salute.

"At ease," he bellowed, radiating self-satisfaction as everyone returned to their seats. Professor Hastings rolled his eyes and removed his maroon hat before addressing the crowd.

"Good evening, everyone. I believe congratulations are in order for the new members of the Ranger Union." He allowed the audience to applaud for a few seconds before continuing. "The Director of Admissions apologizes that she was unable to attend tonight's celebration, but she congratulates everyone who has passed the preliminary ranger exam. Please help yourself to the celebratory dinner. Partners will be announced in approximately ten minutes, but please know that you are all free to continue eating afterwards."

"We don't want our new recruits to starve, after all," Murph interjected, grimacing apologetically when Professor Hastings shot him a sour look. "Have fun eating!" Jamie sniggered and began loading her plate with mashed potatoes. I watched, bemused, as she proceeded to drown her food in gravy and pluck three biscuits from their basket. I shook my head when she reached for more gravy and I proceeded to pick out my dinner.

Just as I finished arranging my plate, Professor Hastings returned to the podium and tapped the microphone. "I hope everyone is enjoying their meal," he said, smiling slightly. "I know I am." A wave of chuckles ran across the crowd and the man dressed in maroon cleared his throat. "Yes—and as much as I hate to divide your attention from your lovely dinner, I would like to announce our new ranger pairs. Please come to the front of the room when you are called to meet not only your new partner, but also the senior ranger who will be responsible for you until you become fully-fledged members."

Murph stumbled to the front of the room with his clipboard, wiping furiously at his mouth as he passed a few wrinkled papers to Professor Hastings. "Our first pair is Timothy Thompson and Beatrice O'Neil," the white-haired man announced.

"I bet he's trying his best to ignore the grease stains on that partner list," Jamie whispered, grinning mischievously at the straight-faced elder. A red-faced brunette and a stiff-legged blond staggered out of their seats and marched mechanically to the front of the room as everyone else applauded. They shook each other's hands awkwardly and rushed back to their respective tables after greeting their senior ranger.

"Brian Ling and Michelle…" Professor Hastings continued to read down the list, and Jamie and I alternated between sneaking bites and clapping for our fellow rangers. The calling order seemed completely random, so when Jamie's name was finally called, she nearly choked on her mouthful of turkey. I watched, bemused, as she stumbled forward, flustered and panicked as she shook hands with her partner. When she had finished greeting her senior ranger, she all but dove back into her seat and unfolded her slip of paper.

"Was he in your group?" she hissed, glancing in the direction of her partner.

"I don't think so." His face hadn't been remarkably familiar when he stood at the front of the room, but then again, I'd been too busy practicing captures to really pay attention to the people around me. "Isn't he the son of Adrian Terra? The radio announcer of the station 902.1?"

"Well, they do have the same last name. And Julian does look like the classical music type," Jamie reasoned, folding her arms thoughtfully. Another pair was called forward when she glanced at the slip before her. "It'll be interesting how this whole rooming thing works out." She bit her lip, blushing slightly. "Can you believe that that we'll be rooming with our partners?"

"What?" My fork dropped with a loud clatter, but it was drowned out by a round of applause from the people around us. "We have to room together with them?"

"The slip says something about strengthening partner bonds," Jamie murmured, waving her paper shyly. "But actually, we're rooming with another partner pair as well. I think we'll be put in rooms with bunk beds."

"Benjamin Polari and Summer Arithorne." My head shot up at the sound of my name and Jamie nodded toward the front of the room. I stood and headed down the aisle, smiling faintly at Professor Hastings when I stopped beside the podium. He nodded and returned the gesture just as a bright-eyed brunet stepped into place before me. The newcomer grinned, his brown eyes crinkling as we shook hands. His fingers were calloused and warm as they closed around mine and the steadiness of his gaze soothed my nerves. There was something comforting in the casual confidence that cloaked his shoulders and I felt myself relaxing as I squeezed his hand.

We parted to welcome our senior ranger, who passed us folded sheets of papers and signaled for us to return to our seats. Benjamin nodded at me and we headed back to our respective tables as the people around us applauded our new partnership. Jamie bounced excitedly in her seat when I slid back into my chair.

"What room are you in?"

I glanced at my slip before showing it to her. "Second floor, room three," I said.

"Sweet! I'm three doors down." Jamie flashed her paper with a grin. "And congratulations on getting Ben as your partner. He was the instructor's favorite in our training group." The blonde leaned forward, a sly glimmer in her eyes. "You know, he was one of the first people to be examined today. I heard he got an S score on his capture!"

"An S score?" I let the new information settle as I sat back in my chair. An S score was the highest a ranger could receive on a capture—only a handful of rangers had been capable of reporting an S score capture, and most of them had been top rangers.

"I know, right? You just landed yourself a Gyarados in the lake of Magikarp." Jamie crossed her arms smugly. "And the fact that you're his partner means that you either matched his score or came close to it." A grin crossed her face. "Or you exceeded it."

"I think that's a little hard to believe—especially when he received an S score," I protested. "I think I got an A at the very most."

"Whatever you say, Crimson." Jamie waved her hand dismissively and returned to her mashed potatoes, a dogged glint in her eyes. "But I think you matched him," she retorted around a mouthful of gravy. "At the very least."

#######################################################

The rest of dinner was uneventful as the last few rangers were paired off and Jamie and I headed for the dorms. We parted ways when we arrived at my new room and I closed the door behind me after promising to sit with the blonde for breakfast. I toed off my shoes and stepped into a medium sized room with two bunk beds pressed against opposite walls. The right wall was already occupied by a redheaded boy and a brunette.

"Hey! You must be Summer." The redheaded boy leapt down from the top bunk of the bed on the right with a smile. "I'm Liam, and this is Melissa." He nodded to the brunette, who waved from where she had been sitting with her partner.

"It's nice to meet you," I said, shaking his hand firmly.

"We haven't exactly chosen who's sleeping where," he told me, gesturing to the bunk beds with his head. "Melissa and I were just hanging out and talking when you came in. It'd be nice to get to know each other before we start keeping each other up with snoring, yeah?"

"If anyone will be snoring, it'll be you," a voice said behind me. The front door was closed with a click and I turned to see Benjamin kicking off his sneakers and pushing them against the wall with his toes. He glanced mischievously at me. "Or are you the snorer?"

"I'll warn you, my snore is deadly," I said, fighting back a smile as he laughed. "Those with delicate ears should know better than to sleep on my side of the room."

"Is there only a certain range to your snoring?" he teased.

"All professional snorers know that there is only a certain area they can affect," Liam stated, grinning widely and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "So it's decided then? Summer and I will keep each other company with our snores and you two can sleep on the quiet side." He winked at me and I flushed.

"Keep your eyes on your own partner," Benjamin scolded halfheartedly, knocking his shoulders with Liam's. "We'll stick to the traditional 'girls on one side; boys on the other'."

"Ahh, segregation by gender. I see where this is going." The redhead nodded slowly as if he was unraveling the brunet's words and pulling them apart. "And I say that we should allow the integration of the sexes and equality for all! I say that—"

"—we should be chivalrous and allow the girls to stay on one side while we take the other," Benjamin cut him off, shaking his head fondly. "Why don't you take the right and we'll take the left?" he suggested, addressing Melissa and I.

"Sounds fine." Melissa wiggled her toes from where she sat and glanced at me. "I'm already on the top bunk, so hopefully you don't mind taking the bottom?"

"Anything works for me," I replied, dropping my bag on the lower bunk. "Are the drawers on the bottom for me?"

"Yeah, mine are on the sides of the stairs." Melissa gestured to the staircase at the end of the bunk beds. She smiled at me. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I was expecting something more like the dorms they had us living in as trainees," I admitted, moving to sit on the side of my bed. The trainee rooms were narrower and draftier, with bland walls and minimal furniture. The new dorm room looked like a grand suite in comparison.

"Those were horrible," Liam groaned, flopping onto the lower bed of the bunk against the left wall. "Oh yeah, I'm taking top bunk again, Benny-boy," he added when Benjamin headed for the stairs.

"Then why are you down there?" The brunet shook his head and tossed his duffel bag by the redhead's feet.

"I'm just waiting for Melissa to hurry up so we can go meet with our boss—uh, senior ranger," he clarified when I furrowed my eyebrows. "Ours wants us to meet the other partner duos he's responsible for and to have a little celebration for making it as rangers. I would've left ten minutes ago, but Melissa wanted to make sure that we sort out sleeping arrangements before we left."

His brunette partner scowled at him from the top of her bunk and crawled over to her stairs. "I just wanted to make sure that everyone was happy with where they were going to be sleeping!" she objected, jumping off the second to last step and landing with a thud. "And Will won't be expecting us for another fifteen minutes."

"Right, right—whatever." Liam got to his feet and waved goodbye as he sauntered over to where Melissa was putting on her shoes. "We'll see you guys later," he called over his shoulder. "Don't miss us too much."

"We won't," Benjamin shouted after him. The door shut after the redhead and my partner turned to face me with a bright smile. "So, Summer, right?"

"Crimson," I told him.

"Crimson?" he echoed, sitting on his own bed.

"It's a childhood nickname." A few fuzzy memories of my brother Aaron chasing me around the house flickered through my mind, and I smiled at the image of getting piggyback rides around the yard. Where to next, Captain Crimson?

"Crimson," Benjamin repeated, drawing the name out slowly. A shy smile crossed his face. "It suits you."

"Thanks." A somewhat awkward silence settled over us and he cleared his throat.

"You can call me Ben," he said. "Benjamin's a mouthful…and only my grandma calls me that," he added with a grimace. I laughed and his face lit up again as the tension eased. "So Crimson, why did you want to be a ranger?" I cocked my head and his cheeks turned pink. "I know that's not the most conventional way to get to know someone," he stammered, "but I'd really like to know why you chose to become a ranger over," he gestured to the side, his hand moving through empty air, "something else."

I stared at him before looking down at my hands. "My older brother inspired me to be a ranger," I said slowly. Just as those words left my mouth, another face flickered through my head—older, wiser, and gentler than Aaron's. His brown hair was streaked with gray, but he laughed with so much fervor that most people assumed he was much younger than his age. "He had always been interested in becoming one, but he ended up becoming a police officer instead."

Ben frowned. "Is it bad if I ask why?"

I closed my eyes, picturing Aaron's ashen face, framed against stark white bedsheets and the sharp smell of sterility. It was the first time I had seen him cry. "It's…private. But he lost someone important to him and he decided to pursue justice instead of becoming a ranger." We both had lost someone that day, when the rain came down heavy and unforgiving on the world, as if mourning over the inevitability of death.

I could feel Ben staring at me and the pity in his eyes was suffocating and unwelcome. "Why did you become a ranger?" I asked. The words came out harsher than I intended, but thankfully, he didn't flinch at my tone.

"My grandpa was a ranger," he replied. "And I've idolized him since childhood. Still do, actually," he chuckled, twiddling his thumbs. "Grandma always told me stories about his adventures and he'd always get embarrassed, but she told them so well that he would just sit down and listen with me. He was never high-ranking a top ranger, but he was my hero." Ben bit his lip before tugging back his green trainee uniform, exposing a small bite wound that had healed several years ago. "I had been playing out in the grass when a Growlithe suddenly attacked me. I was seven at the time and I wanted my grandpa to beat it or to call the local police. I even tried kicking it when he refused—I was angry and hurt and even betrayed by the fact that my own grandpa was defending the Pokémon that bit me.

"But he taught me how to love that Growlithe and to forgive it. He opened my eyes to how skinny and dirty it was. It'd been starving for weeks and was beaten whenever it tried to beg for food. It thought I would attack it too, so it just wanted to strike first." Ben smoothed his thumb over his scarred wrist, a nostalgic smile on his lips. "That Growlithe became my first Pokémon and he's been my best friend ever since. My grandpa showed me that there were so many misunderstandings between humans and Pokémon and that rangers could lead both parties to reconcile. He's the reason why I wanted to become a ranger. And now I am one, and it feels like I'm on cloud nine."

He tugged the sleeve back into place and I felt a stab of guilt at the distant expression on his face. Ben had been willing to share his story with me, but I had refused to tell mine. There things that I couldn't bring myself to share with him, but at least there was one piece of me that I was willing to shed light on.

"Have you ever heard of Zenith Sterling?"

"Have I ever?" Ben snapped out of his stupor and stared at me. "Of course I've heard of him! Champion of Hoenn, the Snowy King of the Battle Frontier, Challenger of Johto and Kanto—he's famous! He's always prepared for a battle and his team is always efficient and synchronized. He's an undefeated trainer who surpassed his father and rose to glory!"

I smiled at the starry-eyed expression the brunet was sporting and put forward my two cents. "He's also a big softie who can't help but coo at every Poochyena he sees and he loved to perform amateur magic tricks with his 'lovely assistant' Leviathan the Magikarp." A bright-eyed boy laughed in my head, pushing around a fish tank on a cart.

Ben looked taken aback and stared at me warily. There was a somewhat offended expression on his face, as if I was desecrating one of his golden idols. "Leviathan's his Gyarados," he said slowly.

"Not eight years ago," I replied, picturing an open-mouthed and glassy-eyed Magikarp staring at the too-small confines of his fish tank. It had taken hours to convince Zenith that Leviathan would be much happier in a larger space, and he had sulked for days when we finally relocated his Magikarp to the lake in my backyard. "Eight years ago, Leviathan was just like any other Magikarp you could catch in a body of water. It took Zenith three years to evolve him, and by then, he was already taking the world by storm."

Ben stared at me skeptically. "And how do you know all of this?"

"I lived next door to him for the first twelve years of my life. We were—we are—best friends." He had left home with every intention of reaching his full potential, and his journey crowned him the Champion of Hoenn. "I haven't seen him in a year," I sighed, resting my head against my wooden bedframe. "He's been so busy challenging other regions that he forgets to come home sometimes."

"Does he at least write?"

"He calls whenever he can, but those conversations don't last very long." There was always a trainer issuing a challenge or a defeated opponent demanding a rematch after being bested. "He sends home gifts, and thanks to his connections with the former standing Champion, my mom is able to sell elemental stones along with her daycare services." Even the few words Zenith managed to share with me conveyed how close they were. Steven Stone often funded Zenith's traveling fares even when the Snowy King of the Battle Frontier was more than capable of affording them himself. The two of them were close friends, and I couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy at the amount of time they spent together.

"Daycare services? Is your mom a breeder?" Ben leaned forward, a curious look in his eyes.

"Our family's always been involved in the breeding and daycare business," I explained. "Aaron was supposed to inherit the farm in the end, but—" a man's face flickered through my mind again, sunny and kind, and I shook my head to clear the image "—he decided to join the police force instead. My mom didn't want to push the family business onto me, so she told me that I could do whatever I wanted and that she'd take care of the shop."

A strange look crossed Ben's face, as if he wanted to say something comforting or to tell another story about his life, but a loud knock interrupted him and both of us glanced at the door. "What is it?" Ben called out, rising to his feet. Had Liam and Melissa been forgotten their keys?

"Lights out in thirty minutes!" Murph's voice came around the cracks of the door, muffled and cheery. "Uniforms will be distributed tomorrow shortly after breakfast, so be sure to grab at least three of them in your size! Also, you'll be meeting with your senior rangers as soon as you get dressed in your new uniforms. And congratulations again on becoming Fletchling rangers!" He laughed at his own joke and his footsteps faded away as he left our dorm door.

Ben shook his head fondly and headed over to his unpacked duffel bag. "I'm going to get ready for bed," he said. "One of us will have to stay here in case it turns out that Liam and Melissa forgot their keys." An exasperated smile crossed his face. "And knowing Liam, that's probably exactly what happened."

"You can go first," I told him, waving him away. "I'll just unpack until you get back."

The brunet grinned and slung a towel over his shoulder. "Okay," he said. "I'll be back in ten minutes." I waved goodbye and the door shut behind him. With a sigh, I turned my attention to my bag and began putting undergarments and socks in their respective drawers. There were two small nightstands by the head of each bunk bed, and I placed a small, framed picture on the one closest to me. A man and a woman stood side by side, smiling as they cradled their children against their chests. A mostly-covered bundle was pressed against the woman's breast while a wide-eyed five-year-old wrapped one arm around his father's neck.

I touched the edge of the silver frame and smiled. "I finally became a ranger, Aaron," I whispered, "for you and for dad." My eyes wandered to the sunny brunette that stood with a newborn in her arms. "Goodnight, mom," I murmured. "Goodnight, Aaron."


	2. The Paladin Initiative

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Accompanying Crimson and Ben's success as Pokemon Rangers, an upcoming promotion makes them consider deviating from the traditional Ranger route and paving the way for a new division of Rangers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Rating: K+  
> Warnings: Characters may seem OOC or OP, but then again, NPCs are rarely more talented than the gamer. Slight variations from the original timeline/text/game. PoV change.  
> Word Count: ~4300  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any spin-offs associated with the franchise.  
> Warnings: This story will include multiple PoVs, and first person means that Crimson (AKA Summer) is speaking. There will be tiny little headers informing you when another character's PoV is being explored. I am also taking liberties in constructing a social/work-related hierarchy in the Ranger Union.  
> Apologies for the ever-absent Director of the Ranger Union and the increasingly authoritative presence of Professor Hastings. And for Murph's lateness.  
> Additional Notes: Blond = Male. Blonde = Female. Brunet = Male. Brunette = Female. I am also aware that the capturing device is known as a Styler, but I will refer to it as a "stylus" in this story. Thanks!

True to the rumors, Ben had a talent for performing captures. Each maneuver was executed with ease and elegance, and snarling Pokémon were quickly reduced to purring bundles of fur. We always received a mixture of jealous and awestruck stares from the other ranger pairs our senior officer oversaw, and while Ben seemed blissfully oblivious to their pointed looks, I felt as if a Graveler had decided that it wanted a piggyback ride from me. The pressure to match his expertise was heavy and constantly present, but the bright-eyed, genuine pride that glowed in his eyes whenever I matched or exceeded his score always made each hour perfecting capture techniques worth it.

I had always thought it was strange whenever the Director of the Ranger Union or Professor Hastings stepped in to watch our practices and evaluations. The air would immediately grow tense, and even Ben's ever-present smile would look somewhat strained. Our senior ranger always smiled knowingly whenever they entered the room, but otherwise paid them no attention as she led us through repetitive exercises and taught us trickier maneuvers used by professional rangers.

Everything clicked together six months later, when Ben and I were summoned to Professor Hasting's office after a periodic examination. The white-haired elder had a thoughtful, calculating gleam in his eyes when he gestured for us to sit down. I perched uncomfortably on the edge of my cushioned chair while Ben eased into his. There was an unmistakable air of tension hovering over us, and while Ben's body was significantly more relaxed than mine, the stiffness of his posture betrayed his calmness.

"I'm sure you both are confused as to why I called you here today," Professor Hastings began, his eyes alternating between my face and Ben's. "But the Director of the Union and I have been keeping a close eye on both of you. A proposal for a new division of rangers had been made shortly after your admittance into the Union, and we considered those who had scored in the 95th percentile or higher for this position. While it may seem more reasonable to promote a veteran ranger rather than newer recruits, the Director and I came to the conclusion that a new generation of rangers should offer their energy and dedication to this potential branch of the Union.

"For years, the Ranger Union and the Police Department have been working separately due to different fields of interest and goals. However, after reviewing the attacking and behavioral patterns of recent criminal organizations, we have come to the conclusion that we need rangers  _and_  police officers who can act as the 'bridge' between the Union and the Regional PD. And thus, the Paladin Initiative was created.

"The responsibilities of this position have not been cemented, as we have yet to decide how to properly implement and utilize this new division of rangers and officers. Therefore, we will depend heavily on the results of our experimental teams to determine whether or not this branch is worth establishing." Professor Hasting paused and watched our faces. I felt a muscle in my cheek twitch before he continued.

"The Director and I believe you are the most qualified rangers for this position. The two of you have an amazing amount of chemistry and synchronization in your partnership." Pride swelled in my chest and I could almost feel Ben shifting with a mixture of embarrassment and self-satisfaction. "You both have also been remarkably consistent with your evaluation scores and are already well-known among veteran rangers. Because of these factors, the Director and I would like to offer you a promotion to become the first Paladin ranger pair in the history of the Ranger Union.

"For now, there is little we have to offer in regards to job expectations and the types of missions you will be involved in, but we encourage you to accept our proposal." He clasped his hands and leaned forward. "Remember to consider how flexible your responsibilities will have to be if you accept our promotion." He nodded toward the door, dismissing us. "We will expect your decision in a week."

#######################################################

Ben sighed as he flopped onto the bench beside me, fingers curled loosely around his soda. An absent look crossed his face and his jaw shifted from side to side. I cradled a can of iced tea in my hands and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. The two of us sat in silence as our colleagues bustled around the courtyard, handling capture gear and checking over manila folders filled with paperwork.

"A promotion, huh?" Ben tilted his head back at my words and I rubbed my thumb against the aluminum can in circular motions.

"I thought it'd be another year before our next break," he chuckled breathlessly, toying with the silver badge on his vest. Just a week ago, our combined ranger scores had landed us into the League of Silver Rangers. While the promotion was sudden and unexpected, most of our coworkers had anticipated us to escalate through the ranks over the course of the next three years. Ben had often attributed our success in scoring high-ranking missions to good luck while I cited our diligence. But after that meeting with Professor Hastings, I wasn't so sure if hard-work trumped dumb luck.

It wasn't easy for rangers to rise from one rank to another. In the beginning, there were so many newcomers fighting over missions that landing a high-level one was considered a stroke of good luck. There was a hierarchy in the Ranger Union that hadn't been obvious to me when I was a trainee, and from what I saw, very few people succeeded in jumping to the next rank. Those who did were either extremely talented or had worked at it for years.

By the blessings of whatever Pokémon Gods who hover above us, Ben and I somehow managed to rise two ranks over the course of six months. It was a difficult reality for our roommates to accept, and it didn't help that Liam always had a strained smile on his face whenever Ben and I were summoned for another high-ranking mission. Thankfully, we were moved to a different part of the dormitory as a way of rewarding our promotion, so instead of coming home to a tense and bitter pair of Copper Rangers, we returned to an empty, two-person bedroom.

"What do you think we should do?" Ben asked, jarring me out of my thoughts. His fingers fiddled with the tab on his soda, and I was distracted for a moment before I answered.

"I don't know." There had been an unspoken promise in Professor Hasting's words. If we accepted the promotion and everything went according to plan, we would rise to the highest rank of rangers—Gemstone Rangers. More commonly known as 'top rangers', Gemstone Rangers were the best of the best and always had seniority in choosing from the mission list. Almost everyone who joined the Union had interests in becoming top rangers—if the media attention wasn't enough of an incentive, the increased paycheck definitely was.

On the other hand, if the project failed or we refused the offer, Ben and I would have to spend years fighting for a spot in the League of Gold Rangers, and at least another decade for the League of Platinum. We were young and talented, and while we were considered exceptional in comparison to our colleagues, we had yet to prove ourselves to the Union that we deserved to be called top rangers.

"What do we have to lose?" Ben asked jokingly. The tension in his body betrayed his nonchalance, and he popped the tab off his soda can with his fidgeting.

"A few years, at the very least."  _And the possibility of a promotion, at the most._ Timing was everything in the Ranger Union—if we left our positions as Silver Rangers, another group would rise to take our spot, and by the time the Regional PD and the Ranger Union decided to shut down the Paladin Initiative, we could be forced to compete with ranger pairs more competent than us. "There's too much we could lose."

"But there's also so much we can gain," Ben objected, standing. "We can do this, Crimson. Even if we lose a few years to the new program, at least we spent those years proving that a Union partnership with the PD can't be possible. We'd benefiting the greater good by showing the Union what's plausible and what's not."

I bit my lip and ran my thumb over the side of my tea. As much as I appreciated Ben's optimism, there were so many repercussions to taking on the Paladin Initiative. If the program failed in the end, there was a big chance that we would be blamed for its downfall. The Ranger Union and the Regional PD would have directed valuable resources towards funding a worthless project and there was no promise that the Initiative would even properly prepare us to work alongside police officers. There was already some resentment between the two organizations—the PD thought the Union was too soft with its idealistic view of the world and the Union was harshly critical of the PD's habit of stark pessimism.

"We don't know if we don't try, Crimson." Ben's brown eyes rested on me, just as warm and comforting as the day we became partners. "And even if worst comes to worst, at least we'll have each other. So let's do this. Let's accept the promotion." He crushed his can, a stunned look of disbelief replacing his confident smile when the majority of his soda sprayed onto his hand.

I couldn't help but laugh—it was so much like Ben to get ahead of himself when he was excited. His sheepish expression eased my nerves and I handed him a few napkins. "Yeah," I murmured. "Let's get our promotion."

#######################################################

"You look nice," Ben offered when I stepped into the designated meeting room. We had parted ways to change into our new uniforms.

"I feel like a clown," I sighed, glancing down at my bright-red vest and yellow socks.  _An overexposed clown_ , I thought, tugging irritably on my shorts. The new uniform wasn't much worse than the standard ranger outfit, but the bright colors made me even more self-conscious of how much of my legs were exposed.

"You look like a nice clown," Ben said, tugging on his left glove. While he had no trouble showing me his scar six months ago, he was extremely uncomfortable with its current visibility. The trainee uniforms were long-sleeved and the gloves of the standard ranger uniform had covered the majority of his forearms, so he hadn't worried much about his scar before our promotion. But the new uniform's gloves just barely covered his wrists, and I still remembered how he had blanched when he first slipped into them.

I stepped over to him and ran my thumb over the pebbled, scarred flesh that the gloves failed to cover. He stared at me for a few seconds before glancing down at my hand. His eyes returned to mine and a desperate, vulnerable expression crossed his face. "I was bullied," he blurted out, looking back and forth between me and his scarred wrist. "About this—about my scar. I—" he stuttered, spluttering to a stop before staring at me reproachfully. "All the girls at my school thought I was gross and everyone else made fun of me because I was scared of Pokémon."

The image of a younger, terrified Ben flashed through my head and a wave of nausea washed over me as I pictured him desperately trying to hide his scarred wrist from his peers. Even though he assured me that he had gotten over his fear of Pokémon when his grandpa taught him to love the Growlithe that had bitten him, he'd always become tense whenever a mission involved anything resembling a doglike Pokémon.

"You're not gross," I told Ben. "You're one of the most amazing people I've ever met." I tightened my grip around his wrist. "If anything, I should thank the Growlithe that bit you, because if it hadn't, I never would've met you."

Ben's eyes widened, and a strange look crossed his face as he stared at me. His cheeks flushed and he swallowed nervously. He opened his mouth, but before he could get his voice to cooperate with him, the doors swung open and I dropped his wrist.

Professor Hastings stood at the door, as straight-backed and serious as always. "I'm glad to see the uniforms fit," he said, stepping into the room.

_A little too well, if you ask me_ , I thought, tugging at the hem of my shorts again. Ben fidgeted with his glove and a shaky, hasty smile spread across his face. "Good morning, Professor."

"Good morning." The elder man tipped his hat to the brunet before setting his briefcase down at the front of the room. "Now, this may come as a surprise to you, seeing as how you accepted your promotion only two days ago, but we have an extremely important task for you." He cleared his throat as Ben and I shared wide-eyed looks. "Currently, the Police Department is still deciding on the officers it wants to participate in the Paladin Initiative, but they agreed that the matter at hand is of utmost importance and that the Ranger Union should proceed on its own as it sees fit. Given this decision, the Director and I have decided that we will send both of you to handle the issue as a sort of trial run."

The room darkened and a map appeared on the floor beneath our feet. "Just yesterday, it was brought to our attention that a recently established crime organization was not only gaining members, but recognition in the criminal world. According to our sources, smaller, initially separate groups had decided to unite under the name of the Pokémon Pinchers. This new organization specializes in controlling Pokémon and taking them away from their homes. Supposedly, these Pinchers even have the ability to control captured Pokémon, and several trainers have already reported missing Pokémon.

"The Pinchers were last seen heading in the direction of Oblivia, a mostly untouched string of islands located by the equator." Professor Hastings gestured to the map below our feet. "While their intentions are unknown, we are quite certain that they are targeting this region because most of the islands have been preserved for archeological research and are, therefore, untouched by modern-day civilization. It is likely they want to take advantage of the wild Pokémon who live on these islands.

"The Director and I want you to head for the region of Oblivia to investigate, and if deemed necessary, intervene. While I would like to assure you that there is little pressure from the Ranger Union, the entire Paladin Initiative currently rests on this mission." Professor Hastings smiled, but the gesture flat. "It is in our interests to avoid involving more rangers than initially planned, but the Ranger Union will supply aid if you believe the mission is too much for the two of you to handle. The Director and I have high expectations for the both of you, and we believe you are more than capable of reaching and even  _exceeding_  them in Oblivia."

Just as Professor Hastings finished his sentence, Murph burst into the room, breathless and desperate. "That's my cue!" he cried, stumbling forward. "If you need an explanation of the Oblivia Region, leave it to me!" He grinned wildly, his chest heaving as he marched over to the Chief of Technology. "As the Public Relations representative of the Ranger Union, it's my duty to be well-versed in the customs and traditions of various regions!"

"As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm," Professor Hastings drawled, "I must remind you that you are not the only PR representative of the Union." Murph's face fell and the older man's stony mask cracked at the kicked-Snubbull expression the brunet was sporting. "Very well, I suppose you can explain the region," he sighed.

"Great!" Murph recovered in a heartbeat, spinning around to face Ben and I. "Oblivia is, in a sense, a place the rest of the world has forgotten about. It's a carefree and peaceful paradise, and most of the people who live there are either elderly or prefer a self-sustaining lifestyle over living in a more modern setting. All of its islands are filled with beautiful wildlife and Pokémon can be found all over the place. Oblivia is popular among archeologists, but rarely receives visitors despite its beautiful, tropical location. This is mostly because the scientific community insisted on preserving the area for research, but over the past few years, they've forgotten about it too!"

"The area is extremely peaceful in comparison to Johto and Kanto. We only have one Area Ranger stationed in Oblivia," Professor Hastings cut in, shooting Murph an impatient glare. "Regardless, this mission is of utmost importance," he repeated. "You will depart for Oblivia tomorrow at 10 AM sharp." The elderly man nodded at Ben and I. "Dismissed!"

#######################################################

A shrill beeping noise pierced my ears and I sat up quickly, clutching at my temples as my head throbbed.  _What in the world happened?_  "Current location…X Coordinate 055664, Y Coordinate 355671." I glanced at my stylus, wincing when Voice Nav.'s robotic voice gave way to static and white noise. "Seawater…penetrated the Stylus's Voice…circuit."

I squinted at the stylus and frowned when Voice Nav. spluttered another semi-comprehensible warning about the presence of seawater in its circuits. I pressed the mic button on the side of my stylus. "Name: Summer Arithorne. Ranger Code: 455. Password: Crimson. Turn on internal fans. Restart Voice Nav." The stylus fell silent for a few seconds before carrying out the command.

"This is Dolce Island in the Oblivia Region," Voice Nav. announced after most of the seawater had been blown out by tiny, internal fans. "Restarting the Voice Navigation system. Restart will be complete in approximately four minutes…" My head throbbed again and I rose to my feet, stumbling under the shade of a palm tree. As Voice Nav. worked on resetting itself, I scanned my surroundings, taking in the expanse of white sand before me. Semi-translucent, turquoise waves lapped at the shore, and the beach was strangely devoid of Pokémon.

My body ached when I tried to stretch, and I winced as I remembered the events leading up to my current, stranded state. An hour after our departure, Voice Nav. picked up signals of a distressed Pokémon, and Ben immediately insisted that we investigate. I didn't argued with him, and we stumbled across two frustrated individuals wearing olive-and-gray uniforms. When they turned to face us, the red-and-white Pokémon they had been chasing disappeared from sight.

Everything else had been a blur, but I faintly remembered a man dressed in red joining his colleagues in the air. He sent a barrage of plasma cannons at Ben, and I leapt in front of my partner out of instinct. The next thing I knew, I was plummeting and my Staraptor was nowhere to be seen. Just as I hit the water, I realized that Ben was now facing the three of them  _alone_.

My memories were returning rapidly as I leaned against a palm tree—the shock of the impact had knocked my stylus off of my wrist and I had to chase down the Pokémon that had decided to keep it as a souvenir. The stylus had most likely been damaged when the Pokémon threw it aside to escape me, and just when I reattached it to my glove, I'd been tossed ashore by a strong current.

_No, it wasn't a current. It was a submarine_. The underwater vehicle had been enormous—much larger than any other submarine I had ever seen. If Murph's earlier explanation of Oblivia was correct, there should be no archeologists in the area for research.  _That submarine must have something to do with the Pokémon Pinchers_ , I concluded, staring out into the ocean. The people who had launched plasma cannons at Ben and I were likely involved with the organization as well, seeing as how they had been chasing down a red-and-white Pokémon when we arrived.

"Voice Navigation has finished rebooting. Error…seawater still…in circuits." I glanced at my stylus and frowned. "Only certain features…currently accessible…time." My hand twitched impatiently when the Partner Icon informed me that that service was presently unavailable. There were two plausible explanations for the application to fail: either the seawater had damaged more of my stylus than I had initially expected, or Ben's stylus was broken.

The brunet's face flickered through my head for a second and I clenched my fists. He had either been taken prisoner by the people on the hovercrafts or he had been thrown off his Pokémon like I was. Now that the Partner Icon was inaccessible, I had no way knowing which scenario had occurred. There was little I could do besides hope for his safety, but seeing the deserted shore and the empty ocean before me, I wasn't sure if I even had any hope left. So I carried my damaged stylus with me into the forest of Dolce Island, hyperaware of the eerie silence that lingered between the trees.

#######################################################

Third Person – Ben

He had been blindfolded as soon as they landed. The blond man who had shot Crimson out of the sky had kept his plasma cannons trained on Ben the entire flight, so if the brunet made any move to escape, he would be knocked off his Staraptor immediately.  _Crimson_ , Ben thought as a rough hand closed around his elbow and his wrists were tied together. He couldn't believe that she had sacrificed herself to protect him, but he had no  _time_  to believe when he was jerked forward. He stepped heavily and deliberately, testing the composition of the ground below him. At first it sounded like ordinary packed dirt, but then a more metallic sound echoed through his ears. They were in some kind of man-made structure, and he forced himself to relax when a door slammed shut behind him.

Well, it wasn't like he had any chance of escaping anyways, blindfolded and bound like a Tauros meant for the slaughterhouse. The blond man had confiscated Ben's stylus upon landing and the blindfold slipped into place just as a shattering sound informed the brunet that his equipment was being smashed. Without his stylus, Ben had no idea where he was, although he had a sneaking suspicion that he was somewhere in the Region of Oblivia. The people who holding him captive were undoubtedly Pokémon Pinchers—one them was bragging that there was no way an  _ordinary ranger_  was going to be able to take on a professional criminal organization.

The man's words were immediately followed loud clap and a yelp, and Ben assumed that his companion slapped him. He ignored the furious whispers behind him and focused on the hand gripping his elbow. He was stopped and turned before being tugged forward again.  _Left. Right. Right. Left. Left._  He repeated the turns in his head as he was pushed forward and a heavy door slammed shut behind him.

Ben stumbled, blindly searching for the nearest wall, and cursing silently when his forehead slammed into an unquestionably metal barrier. Judging by the silence in the room, no one had bothered to stay and stand guard, so he quickly turned himself over and pressed his back to the wall. He slipped his bound hands into his back pocket, searching blindly for a tracker. His fingers closed around a thin, round disk and he released a breathless sigh of relief. He peeled the waxy sticker off the back of the tracker and pressed the disk against the wall.

Once it was set in place, Ben stumbled to his feet and wandered blindly into another metal wall to draw attention away from the tracker. Removing the sticker on the back of the disk immediately activated the device, and Ben mentally thanked Professor Hastings for presenting it to him and Crimson just before they left.

There was nothing he could do now—bound, blindfolded, and stuck in the heart of enemy territory. A heavy feeling weighed down his heart; he couldn't believe that their mission was already compromised. His partner had plummeted several thousand feet to what was likely her death and the Chief of Technology had just lost two of his best rangers in one fatal swoop of misfortune.

He should've listened to Crimson. She had been extremely wary of the promotion, and Ben saw how much she wanted to refuse it. But he had let their recent advancement into the League of Silver Rangers go to his head and insisted that they were more than capable of participating in the Paladin Initiative. He should've made the opposite decision then and respected her wishes to continue along the traditional ranger path. But part of him was thoroughly convinced that the two of them were special, that somehow they had been destined to become extraordinary, unrivaled rangers who would lead the world to justice.

Perhaps he had been too ambitious; perhaps Hubris was the Mistress of Despair, but regardless of how much he hated himself at the moment, he knew he had to stay calm. There was no good in panicking or entering a state of self-deprecation. He had to do whatever he could to escape, and even if he died trying, he knew he would at least have the right to face Crimson on the other side.

 


	3. The Thunder Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected reunion, a strange time-traveling instance, and an exhausting day of neverending work/missions finds Crimson agitated, restless, and stronger than ever before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warning: K+  
> Warnings: Dialogue in this chapter is vastly different from the game. Certain scenes have been excluded.  
> Word Count: ~4500  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any spin-offs associated with the franchise.  
> Warnings: This story will include multiple PoVs, and first person means that Crimson (AKA Summer) is speaking. There will be tiny little headers informing you when another character's PoV is being explored. Murph is also closer to Crimson in this storyline, so expect a lot of joking and chatter later on.  
> Additional Notes: Blond = Male. Blonde = Female. Brunet = Male. Brunette = Female. I am also aware that the capturing device is known as a Styler, but I will refer to it as a "stylus" in this story. Thanks!

A green orb floated before the Stone of Time as wide-eyed villagers inched closer to its light. Ralph and I shared a wary look before running over to the other inhabitants of Cocona Village. The growing crowd parted to accommodate us, but everyone's eyes stayed pinned to the mossy, ancient pillar. I weaved my way to the front, and just as I stopped to investigate the stone, the glowing orb shot forward, startling the villagers to my right.

The people to my left were frozen as half the crowd ran to safety, but quickly sprinted toward the forest when the orb lunged at them. The hair on my arms prickled and my brain demanded that I run, but my legs were rooted to the ground. I was the only one left in the courtyard and the glowing light circled me curiously. After a few rotations, a mysterious, wide-eyed Pokémon emerged from the orb and lifted a pale hand to my face.

My hand went to my stylus when it attacked.

Thorns burst out of the ground around me and I leapt to the side as the Pokémon shot a wave of leaves at me. I activated my stylus and drew rapid capture hoops around the green and white Pokémon. More thorn pillars pierced the ground, and all conscious thought was lost. A heightened state of awareness settled over me as I dodged further attacks. I could barely hear anything over the heartbeat pulsing in my ears. In my mind's eye, I saw Ben darting around the Pokémon, his wrist twisting as he drew strong, confident capture lines around the green and white creature. My body mimicked his movements, and with a firm slash downwards, the capture was completed.

My fingers loosened around my capture stylus as I tried to catch my breath. "Your browser has registered a new Pokémon." Voice Nav. broke through the heavy haze in my mind and I staggered to the left. My legs felt boneless as the green and white Pokémon circled me lazily. "Legendary Pokémon Celebi has been recorded in your browser."

Celebi paused, studying my face thoughtfully. Its mouth widened into a smile and it grabbed my arm with a gleeful cry. My body tensed as my feet left the ground, but before I could tear myself away from the green and white Pokémon, I was dropped into a golden light. I flailed wildly—memories of plummeting towards the Oblivia Sea flickered through my head as I fell.

A patch of brown appeared beneath my feet and I landed in a crouch. The shock of the impact jarred me, but I managed to stay upright. Celebi drifted down to eyelevel and chirped when I stood up. It watched as I searched the clearing and tried to make sense of my surroundings. The courtyard looked nearly identical to the outskirts of the village, although paved ground replaced grassy, earthen terrain.

"Celebi, are you making mischief again?" I looked to my left and saw a blond step out of a stone building. The green and white Pokémon flew to the newcomer's side, cooing happily. "And who are you?" He headed towards me with a friendly, relaxed smile and stared curiously at my clothes when he stopped. "I've never seen clothes like that before." He looked over me, his smile disappearing as he took in my googles and my capture stylus. "Wait, did you—" he broke off, staring at Celebi. "You didn't come here by Celebi's time travel, did you?"

"Bii!" Celebi affirmed.

The boy's blue eyes widened. "Celebi! Why would you do that?" A disgruntled, somewhat embarrassed expression crossed his face. "You need to take her back to her own time," he chastised, earning a confused and teary-eyed expression from the green and white Pokémon. The boy threw his hands up in frustration when it turned its face away from him. "I—" he paused, glancing at me thoughtfully. "Hold on. Can you send her back in a little bit?" Celebi nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly, and I couldn't help but smile apologetically at the disappointed pout on its face.

The blond boy reached out a hand to me. "My name is Ravio, and this mischievous one is my friend Celebi. And you are?"

"Crimson." I took his hand and shook it firmly.

An excited, somewhat guilty expression crossed his face. "Where did you come from? What do you do? When did you come from?" He bit his lip shyly, a blush dusting his tanned cheeks. "I know this may seem strange that I am so curious," he said. "Am I asking too many questions?"

I shook my head before explaining my job as a Pokémon ranger and the time period I came from. A thoughtful look settled in Ravio's blue eyes. "You're like the temple oracles. Perhaps that is how you came to befriend Celebi?" He glanced over at the green and white Pokémon for confirmation, but it paid him no attention as it held onto its toes and floated contentedly in circles. Ravio shook his head fondly and clapped his hands, earning Celebi's attention immediately. "Celebi, I want you to take Crimson back to her time. I'm sure her friends are very concerned for her."

The green and white Pokémon deflated visibly, but took my wrist and lifted me into the air again. Celebi warbled a goodbye before dropping me into a golden ball of light and returning me to the present. I landed firmly beside the Stone of Time, brushing off my clothes as I rose to my full height.

"Crimson!" Ralph raced up to me, wide-eyed and relieved. "You're alright!" I opened my mouth to reassure him, but before I could get a word out I was swarmed by concerned villagers. Each person babbled something about being terrified for me, themselves, or for the village, and after realizing that each villager was more interested in cutting each other off than speaking in complete sentences, I pasted a smile onto my face and pretended to listen.

#######################################################

Booker walked us to his door, a somber expression on his face as he knelt beside Ukulele Pichu. His eyes softened as he looked over the bright yellow Pokémon. "Be careful little one," he murmured. Pichu chirped and Booker raised his dark eyes to me. "Go and give those Pinchers and their UFOs what they deserve." A fiery, vengeful look crossed his face. "And bring the Pokémon back."

"Of course," I said. "I'll bring them home as soon as possible." Booker's eyes landed on Pichu's bright blue ukulele and his lips thinned into a concerned frown. The instrument had been broken when I confronted the Pinchers at Rasp Cavern, and the devastated look on Pichu's face had sent Booker into a flurry of anger. "And I'll keep Ukulele Pichu safe."

The elderly man deflated, suddenly looking far beyond his years. "Please," he whispered. "Please protect them all." For a split second, I couldn't determine whether he was speaking to me or to the 'Hero of Oblivia' that the other villagers spoke so proudly about, but I nodded nonetheless. While he had been enraged at the destruction of the blue ukulele, Booker had become absolutely  _livid_  when he heard that Raiku's stone monument had been smashed by the Pinchers. While he didn't speak of the 'Hero of Oblivia' as enthusiastically as his neighbors, the helpless, overwhelming fury that filled Booker's dark eyes had been evidence enough of his faith in the legend.

Ukulele Pichu and I stepped away from Booker's home and said our goodbyes to Ralph and Nick. We headed east, toward Rand's house, in hopes of finding the only ranger stationed in Oblivia. Pichu marched confidently by my side, but I couldn't help but notice the bitter expression on his face. Part of me regretted accepting him as a partner Pokémon—Ranger protocol had always argued against the participation of involved individuals—but I hadn't been able to deny him of the chance to save his friends. After all, I still needed to avenge Ben.

"Hey! Hey you!" My head shot up and my eyes focused on a blue-haired girl standing by the water. She motioned for me to come over. Her blue eyes flickered over my outfit as Pichu and I approached. "You're a ranger, right?" she asked, staring at my capture stylus. I nodded and her eyes lit up like a toddler being handed ice cream. "Can you swim? Can you open your eyes underwater? Can you dive underwater with those goggles?" She stepped forward, an awestruck expression on her face as she reached for my goggles.

"There's a snorkeling mechanism that lets me swim," I replied, looking nervously at her outstretched fingers. Professor Hastings had developed them specifically for Top Rangers, but decided to expand whatever equipment elite rangers could access to the Paladin Initiative as well.

" _They can even let you breathe?_ " I placed a wary hand on my goggles—the blue-eyed girl looked like she was going to rip them off my head at any second. Thankfully, she stepped back, shaking her head in amazement. "Well then, I have a request! One of those UFOs fell into the ocean, and I  _really_ want to research it. And there's a rule on this island that you have to grant three wishes of any girl who's younger than you, so can you go and get it for me?"

My stylus beeped and Voice Nav.'s robotic voice filled the clearing. "An oil leakage can occur if the machine is left in the ocean," it warned. "We should examine the issue immediately."

"There we have it! You'll be helping the ocean too if you fulfill my request!" The blue-eyed girl's self-satisfied expression faded into curiosity when her eyes returned to my capture stylus. "And your stylus can talk too, huh?" A thoughtful grin crossed her face and she crossed her arms. "I'm  _definitely_ going to look at that later," she said, half to herself. "It's really different from papa's."  _Papa?_  I frowned.  _Is Rand her father?_ Before I could clarify who 'papa' was, she turned toward her companion, who was standing in ankle-deep water. "Nixie, can you let Lapras help?"

The brunette bit her lip and glanced at her blue and purple Pokémon. "Lapras won't let her ride you if she doesn't respect you…" she trailed off, glancing meaningfully at my capture stylus. "But I'm sure it shouldn't be too hard for you to earn her trust."

"Great!" The blue-haired girl grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me toward the Lapras. "Get to it! I'll watch over your Pichu while you're out there!"

#######################################################

The blue-eyed girl clapped when Lapras towed me back to shore, UFO and all. "Thank you so much! And thanks for letting us borrow Lapras, Nixie!" She grinned widely as I dragged the machine onto the beach. "Z.Z Flier," she read, running a finger over the words on the side of the UFO. "So that's what they're called." She nodded happily at the beached machine before turning around to face me. An expectant, playful smile crossed her face. "I'm sure you have some amazing pose to show me, so…Mission Clear!"

My cheeks flushed as I spun in a circle and struck my pose. I felt like a circus-trained Aipom whenever I obeyed a command, but the applause I received eased my discomfort. The blue-eyed girl grinned cheerfully at me. "Your ranger pose is a lot more like a rock star's than my papa's," she commented. "Anyway, I'm Nema and it's getting really annoying to refer to you as 'Ms. Ranger' in my head, so what's your name?"

"Crimson. And this," I gestured to Ukulele Pichu, "is my partner Pokémon, Ukulele Pichu."

Nema's jaw dropped and she took an interested step forward. " _Crimson_? Great Arceus, can I meet whoever decided to name you?"

"Parents," Trixie supplemented, but the blue-eyed girl ignored her.

"It's actually a nickname that my brother gave me. It stuck around, so I've been going by Crimson ever since."  _With the exception of bosses and roll call sheets, that is_ , I added, thinking back to grade school.

"That's really cool." Nema nodded approvingly. "Anyway, what are you doing here in Oblivia? Papa never mentioned anything about the Union assigning another ranger to the region, but then again, we've been having issues with the Wireless Tower, so that might be why we haven't heard any new news."

_Bingo_ , I thought,  _Rand is Nema's father._  "I was sent here on a classified mission, but it's a lot more complicated than I originally thought. I was hoping to meet with your father to discuss what options I should take."

"You want to meet my papa? Sheesh; why didn't you tell me sooner?" Nema smiled brightly at me, seemingly blind to Trixie's eye-roll. "He should be at the Wireless Tower, and my house is on the way there! Since we'll have to pass by to meet him, do you mind carrying this Z.Z Flier for me?" Her smile grew wider. "This is my second request!"

#######################################################

"Come on! You're a ranger, aren't you? Why are you so tired already?" Nema crossed her arms and shook her head disapprovingly at me. I leaned against her doorway, panting heavily and trying my best to keep my temper. On our way to her house, we had been ambushed by two Pokémon Pinchers who had failed to capture Raikou. When I finally defeated them, I had to drag a ridiculously heavy Z.Z Flier after Nema, who had decided to walk on ahead because I was 'being slower than a three-legged Torterra'. Just as I finally caught sight of the house, Nema knocked me over, babbling incoherently about her room being on fire.

The next ten minutes found me running back and forth like a headless Torchic as I tried to find a water Pokémon to extinguish the fire. To make matters worse, the initial fire broke out into larger flames when the first Buizel I found tried to douse it. Nema grew even more panicked, and I ran around until the final embers were put out. After thanking the various Pokémon that contributed to putting the fire out, Nema asked me to carry the Z.Z Flier into her house. I had half to mind to tell her to do it herself, but by that time, I was too exhausted to object.

"Just give me a few minutes," I said, swallowing back a scream of frustration.

To my surprise, Nema's eyes brightened at the request for a break. "Okay! As long as I get to see that stylus of yours, that is." She snatched the device off my wrist before I could say anything and disappeared into her room. "It looks like there's still some seawater in your stylus's circuits," she said, reappearing with a few gadgets in hand. "Your stylus is a lot more complicated than my papa's, but the basic circuits are still in there." She fidgeted with my capture stylus and handed it back after a few seconds.

Voice Nav. rebooted and informed me that everything was working properly. A satisfied expression crossed Nema's face when I gaped at her and she crossed her arms proudly. "Just like brand new!" she said when I tapped on the screen of my stylus. "The only problem is that none of your applications are available right now, especially since the Wireless Tower isn't working. Papa said that the Tower needed a few repairs, but those should be done within the week." She frowned at my stylus thoughtfully. "If I had a little more time, I'd reset the program in your stylus so you wouldn't need communication with the Ranger Union to reboot your Voice Nav., but I think we should find papa as soon as we can."

It was undeniable that she was thinking back to the Pokémon Pinchers from earlier. The two of them had mentioned something about taking over the Wireless Tower and Nema was obviously concerned for her father's safety. I grit my teeth and straightened up, ignoring my muscles as they protested any kind of movement. As much as I wanted to leave the issue until tomorrow, I was responsible for completing the mission, regardless of whether or not my partner was compromised.

If I had died trying to complete this task, I knew Ben would fight till the bitter end so my death wouldn't be in vain. I didn't know if he was still alive out there, but the least I could do was to do the same for him.

#######################################################

Rand and I raced up the metal stairs of the Wireless Tower, mindful of the terrified Pokémon Pinchers who scrambled downstairs. I was still exhausted from dragging the Z.Z Flier to Nema's house and trying to put out the fire, but Rand was in worse shape than I was. He wheezed as we climbed the last few steps and I felt a twinge of sympathy for him. He was in his prime, but the peacefulness of Oblivia had made his muscles lax and uncooperative. Ben and I had been training our bodies since the day we'd applied as trainees while Rand looked like he had spent the last few years on paid vacation.

When we reached the top of the Wireless Tower, we were nearly knocked over by two Pinchers who were rushing to leave the building. A single person remained, staring wide-eyed at the formidable golden beast before her.

Without missing a beat, Rand raced forward and confronted her. She watched him coolly as a sadistic, pitying smirk pulled at her lips. "We didn't destroy your tower," she said, gesturing to the charred antennae behind Raikou. "That dumb dog over there did." She cast an admiring glance over the ruins of the tower, taking in the ruptured springs and bent metal. "Quite an impressive feat, wouldn't you say?"

"Why would you did you do this?" Rand grit out. "Why are you controlling Raikou?"

The blue-eyed woman threw her head back with a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Controlling that beast? As if. We'd rather let it destroy things on its own. And besides," she said, examining her gloves, "these Capture Gauntlets aren't exactly strong enough to control Legendary Pokémon." Her smirk turned wicked. " _Yet_."

"You—" Rand took a step toward her, but she stepped onto a blue Z.Z Flier and departed.

"Thanks for taking care of Raikou!" she called over her shoulder. I made a move to go after her, but Rand grabbed my wrist and nodded towards Raikou.

"As much as I'd like to capture the criminals responsible for this," he said slowly, keeping his eyes on the agitated Pokémon. "I'd like to get Raikou under control first." He placed a hand on his stylus but stepped back. "I'll supplement and keep an eye out for any more Pinchers."

My grip tightened around my own stylus. Ben and I had supplemented for each other on multiple occasions—one of us would tend to the capture while the other stood guard. It was an unspoken agreement that many ranger pairs shared. While we tried swapped roles frequently, Ben was usually in charge of the capture while I acted as his supplement. I knew Rand was more concerned about keeping third party members out of danger, but part of me was terrified that he would be too preoccupied to assist if Raikou got out of control.

But there was no room for fear or doubt in the life of a Pokémon Ranger. The orientation I had attended as a trainee had made it clear that rangers often lost their lives during dangerous missions, and that the life of a ranger was one of self-sacrifice. My fate was sealed the day I decided to take on the capture stylus, and I would carry it until the day I would be relieved from service.

#######################################################

Raikou's muscles contracted and flexed as we leapt across the segmented remains of Big Booker Bridge. I squeezed his sides with my legs and he lunged forward, the momentum of each jump propelling him forward. After a few bounds, we reached the final stretch of open water, where most of the bridge had been destroyed by exploding Electrodes. It was twice the width of the earlier gaps, and Raikou's muscles tensed as he prepared himself for a final leap.

My heart was forced into my throat as he pushed off of the battered remains of Big Booker Bridge and became airborne. The weightlessness of the moment made me feel as if I were flying on my Staraptor's back again, drunk on adrenaline and the wonders of flight. It was the same exhilaration I had felt when I finished Raikou's capture on the top of the Wireless Tower. The golden Pokémon landed on Mitonga Island, chest heaving as I slipped off of his back. I stepped around him and took his face in my hands before pressing our foreheads together.

"Thank you," I breathed. Raikou's scarlet eyes narrowed as a low, satisfied purr rumbled through his body. He butted my chin before turning back towards Reinbow Island and leaping across the remains of Big Booker Bridge. Ukulele Pichu, who had been clinging to my back for the entire ride, slid down my leg and jumped around cheerfully.

"The Hero of Oblivia riding the Great Entei." I turned to see a middle-aged brunette take a small step towards. "But that was the Legendary Raikou, wasn't it?" She gazed thoughtfully towards Reinbow Island before meeting my gaze with a smile. "Every island has a different legend," she explained. "It seems that Reinbow Island has already been blessed with the presence of Raikou. Perhaps it is time for Mitonga Island to see Entei again?" She folded her hands and walked towards the Big Booker Bridge, staring out into the water.

Pichu and I shared a look before deciding it was best to leave her alone. We headed into Tilt Village, gawking worriedly at the elevated, slanted houses before a familiar voice cut through the air. "Hey! Crimson!" A portly brunet stumbled down the slope, waving wildly. "It's Murph! Remember me?"

_As if I could forget?_  I thought, smiling politely as he skidded to a stop before me.  _You gave me a lecture on the Region of Oblivia just two days ago._  "Of course I remember you. You substituted for Ms. Chen when she left for her mission."

"That's right—she got recruited just two weeks before your training ended. And then you had the Magnificent Murph to teach you for twelve glorious days!" Murph grinned and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "As much as I would love and chat about the past, I came here on a mission! Professor Hastings sent me over here on one of our biggest ships so I could deliver a message to you." He cleared his throat and frowned before continuing in a deeper voice. "Top Ranger Kellyn has obtained some information from our contacts. It appears that there have been several suspicious individuals spotted at libraries in various regions. Reportedly, the books they have been searching for are tied to Oblivia's ancient legends. Due to this information, we have come to the conclusion that these suspicious individuals are Pokémon Pinchers.

"A book the group may be searching cannot be found in any library, but rather on Mitonga Island. The Pinchers should not know of this book's existence yet, but it is likely they will catch wind of it soon." Murph pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms, frowning deeper. "I want you to hurry to Mitonga Island and get the book. The title of the book is  _Legends of the Oblivia Region._ " The brunet's face relaxed and he smiled, dropping his impersonation of Professor Hastings. "Pretty good, huh? I was part of a drama theater before I joined the Ranger Union. Anyway, it's by a man named Amun, and he supposedly spent his entire life writing this book. Unfortunately, he passed away some time ago and there's only one copy, but according to our sources, it's probably still at his mansion."

"We better hurry, then," I said, thinking back to the blond Pincher that had blown up Big Booker Bridge. "I think the Pinchers have already arrived on Mitonga Island."

Murph blanched immediately. "Seriously? Oh gosh, I better call Professor Hastings right now!" He reached for his pockets but dropped his hands with a sheepish smile. "Actually,  _The Union_ 's transmitter is broken. The trip over was a bit rough, so I accidentally spilled some juice on it. Can you contact the Ranger Union with your stylus?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "If the Union's transmitter is broken, I don't see how I can contact them," I said.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention that  _The Union_  is the name of the ship I came over on." Murph scratched the back of his head and grinned. "But anyway, can you call Professor Hastings for me?"

I glanced at my stylus and tapped on the Ranger Union icon, but Voice Nav. protested the order. "Until the Wireless Tower's repair is completed, we cannot communicate with the Ranger Union or with other regions."

The brunet's jaw dropped. " _Are you serious?_  Did someone spill juice on the Wireless Tower or something?" He glanced nervously at my stylus. "So you haven't been contacting the Ranger Union? Professor Hastings is probably worried sick." He fidgeted with his hands. "Hopefully he thinks no news is good news."

"The inhabitants of Reinbow Island are working as quickly as they can," I reassured him. "They should be done in a week or two."

"That's good. Great Arceus, it would be nice to get some advice from the Ranger Union, but I suppose the three of us could…Wait a minute, Crimson," Murph said, glancing behind me. "Where's Ben?" He looked curiously at Ukulele Pichu, who stared back at him with wide eyes. "And where's your Staraptor?"

"Staraptor was compromised; I don't know where he is." My hands tightened into fists. "And Ben is compromised as well. He was taken by the Pinchers, so we at least know that he's alive. And Ukulele Pichu is acting as my Partner Pokémon in the meantime."

A strange look flickered across Murph's face and he crossed his arms. "Don't worry about Ben," he said. "He's a strong-willed guy, so he'll definitely be fine. Even if he's imprisoned, I'm sure that he's working on gathering information for us. He is a Silver Ranger after all."

"I'm not worried," I lied. "He's safe with the Pinchers."

Murph's expression was distraught. "That's not what your eyes are telling me," he murmured. I pursed my lips and looked away. "Anyway, let's ask around to see if anyone knows anything about Amun's mansion. We're bound to find something."


	4. The Exchange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red Eyes comes up with a proposition shortly after Blue Eyes is compromised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warning: K  
> Warnings: Murph is as optimistic as ever. He also should learn to keep his mouth shut.  
> Word Count: ~4700  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any spin-offs associated with the franchise.  
> Additional Notes: Blond = Male. Blonde = Female. Brunet = Male. Brunette = Female. I am also aware that the capturing device is known as a Styler, but I will refer to it as a "stylus" in this story. Thanks!

 

"It's so dusty in here," Murph whined, eyeing the dimly-lit staircase, "and scary." To prove his point, an Ariados dropped from the ceiling, eliciting a high-pitched shriek from the brunet. "Crimson!" He clung to the back of my vest, clutching the red fabric in his hands. "I really don't like this place."

I turned around to comfort him, but a few voices at the end of the staircase caught my attention. Murph opened his mouth to speak again, but I shushed him and inched closer to the bottom of the stairs. "What was that thudding noise? Is someone else here?" A man's voice, nasally and nervous, came around the corner.

"There's nothing there. Let's just head back to our leader." A woman replied. Murph's eyes widened and his foot slipped as he tried to peek around the corner. He slammed into me and the two of us stumbled down the stairs and came face to face with two Pinchers.

" _Pokémon Rangers?_ " The male Pincher took a step back, nearly tripping over his Chikorita in his haste.

"That's right! We're Pokémon Rangers!" Murph huffed, crossing his arms. "We're here to take you criminals  _down_."

The female Pincher eyed the brunet's stomach wearily. "There's no way you're a ranger," she said. "That is, unless the Ranger Union decided to lower its standard to include oversized couch potatoes."

"Why you!" Murph's face reddened and he took an angry step forward. "You're the one who made the hole in the ground!" he accused. "Do you know how much I went through because of you?"

"Hole?" The female Pincher frowned before a devious smirk crossed her face. "Ah, so you were the  _thud_  we heard earlier. Now that I think about it, I think I heard you crying." She set her hands on her hips. "You guys are sure talented at stirring up trouble. Chikorita! Bayleef!" She gestured sharply to the two Pokémon behind her. "Knock them out. They're not worth our leader's time."

"Crimson," Murph started, his voice nervous and shrill.

"I'm on it." I flicked out my capture stylus as Ukulele Pichu leaned forward in anticipation. "Just stay behind me."

#######################################################

Murph and I stepped into a ransacked room, taking in the papers and books littered across the wooden floor. "This place is a mess!" Murph kicked disdainfully at a few torn scraps of paper. "Is this how you reward people's hard work? Amun spent years researching Pokémon and this is how you treat his books?"

_The same could be said about you_ , I thought as he wiped his shoes on the remnants of destroyed books. My eyes returned to the Pinchers in the room—the two who had challenged us outside Amun's library cowered in the corner as their blonde leader stepped forward. "How brave of you to speak out so rudely," she said coolly, resting her eyes on Murph. "Aren't you the one who fell through the hole in the floor?" The PR representative flushed, but the blue-eyed woman continued as if nothing had happened. "And you, you're that ranger from Red Eyes's report."

_Red Eyes?_  The face of a ruby-eyed blond flickered through my head.  _The Pincher who knocked me off of Staraptor and kidnapped Ben?_  "We met before at the Wireless Tower," the woman continued, resting a hand against her hip. "Being careful of a cute little ranger like you…" she scoffed. "Red Eyes is quite a comedian. Anyway," she studied her nails. "I am the blue leader of the Pokémon Pinchers. Also known as…" She flicked her hair, crossed her arms, and placed both hands on her hips. "Blue Eyes!"

The Pincher grunts behind her clapped enthusiastically as she returned to her contrapposto pose. Murph leaned forward and nudged me gently. "Your pose is cooler," he whispered. I could tell that he wanted to talk back at Blue Eyes and push his weight around, but it was obvious that he was scared half to death by the Pincher Leader.

"I will ask you one question," Blue Eyes continued, ignoring Murph's half-audible comment. "In this world, there exists only one copy of the book,  _Legends of the Oblivia Region_. We've looked for it, but we haven't been able to find it." Her eyes narrowed at Murph and I. "You have it, don't you."

"That information is classif—"

"Not yet! So that  _is_  what you're after!" Murph's triumphant expression faded into uncertainty when he realized that he had admitted that the book was still yet to be found. Pretending to have the book could've acted in our favor as a bargaining chip to learn more information about the Pinchers' plans, but Murph had cut me off before I could properly answer the blonde.

A pleased expression crossed Blue Eyes's face. "Excellent." She flicked her hair again and executed her pose, earning another round of applause from her subordinates in the corner. "Meganium, take them down!"

"Crimson!" Murph's voice was shrill as he inched back towards the doorway. I rolled my eyes as I pulled out my stylus.

"I'm on it."

#######################################################

"That woman is going to be the death of me," Murph groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I can't tell whether I'm supposed to be interrogating her or being interrogated myself." He lifted his face and frowned at me thoughtfully. "Where did you go after I left? You were gone for an hour and I almost thought Blue Eyes's minions kidnapped you while I was taking her back to the Union."

"I wasn't. I just wanted to scope the area and fill my browser," I lied, the face of a certain green and white Pokémon flashing through my head. Shortly after Murph had left with Blue Eyes, Celebi had pulled me through a time portal. Ravio, who was waiting on the other side with two other people, wore a look somewhere between delight and exasperation on his face. The latter was obviously directed toward Celebi, who was drifting around me in lazy circles again. After scaring off a Steelhead and promising to help find Ravio's father, Celebi dropped me into another portal and returned me to my own time.

"Okay then." Murph didn't look completely convinced by my answer, but leaned in a little closer and glanced in Pichu's direction. "What's up with the little guy? Did one of the Pokémon you were trying to capture hit him really hard or something?"

I let out a shaky laugh. "Something like that," I said. Ukulele Pichu, who hadn't been pleased with the green and white Pokémon's antics, decided to chase the glowing green orb until I called him back to me. Needless to say, the baby Pokémon had been terrified that I had left him alone in front of Amun's haunted mansion and was reminding me of such by sulking. "Anyway, what's our next plan of action?"

"I have no idea," Murph admitted, glancing back at the Union. "I mean, I don't know how much better you'll be at interrogating Blue Eyes, and it'd look much better if I took care of it…so why don't you go and report to Rand?"

While Murph's reasoning seemed somewhat flawed, I knew exactly what he intended to do by keeping the two of us separated. He didn't want me to question Blue Eyes because I was closely tied to the mission Professor Hastings had issued, and after finding out that Ben and his partner Pokémon had both been compromised, Murph had no intention of letting the Pinchers know any more classified information through slip-ups or reverse psychology. It was obvious that the brunet was aware of his position on the chain of authority, and I was beginning to see why Professor Hastings decided to entrust Murph with this mission. Murph was smart where he needed to be, and often times, that was the game-changer in dire situations.

#######################################################

"Back already?" Murph raised an eyebrow at the manila folder in my hand. "What's that?"

"Rand's hand-written report." I leaned against one of the wooden posts on the dock. "I gave Leanne Amun's book; she's confident that she'll be able to fully decode it by tomorrow morning."

The brunet let out a low, appreciative whistle. "Got to love their work ethic," he murmured, thumbing through the pages of the report. "This is really thorough. It'll take me a good amount of time to read it all. No spare antenna, going to require more time for repairs…"

"Rand's report aside," I said, settling onto the top of the dock post, "how's the interrogation going?"

Murph scowled into the report. "Please don't ask me that again," he grumbled, squinting at the words on the last page. "And remind me to tell Rand to write a little bigger next time so I don't have to use a microscope to read his handwriting."

"I think they ran out of all the scratch paper they could spare." The entire report looked like it was scrawled on the backs of old bills and homework, which was understandable, since most reports were sent electronically or verbally. Very few rangers carried paper with them, especially since styluses were equipped with recording devices so the reports of compromised rangers could be retrieved.

A low humming noise caught our attention and both of us looked up to see a red-eyed Pincher landing his Z.Z Flier on the ground before us. "Not bad, ranger. Not bad." He crossed his arms and smiled, but the gesture never reached his eyes. "Kidnapping Blue Eyes is pretty impressive, even for a ranger."

"I hardly think you qualify to call us kidnappers when you're holding Ben hostage," Murph snapped, straightening up. As terrified as he was of Blue Eyes, it seemed like he was significantly less scared of the Pincher dressed in red. "And who the hell are you anyway?"

"What can I say? Takes one to know one." The Pincher's mouth curled into a smirk. "I'm the red leader of the Pinchers. My name is…" he crossed his arms, flicked his hair, and threw his hands out. "Red Eyes!" His confident expression faltered when Murph and I stared at him, and I saw the brunet shift a little closer toward me from the corner of my eye.

"Yep, still cooler," Murph mumbled, the surprised glint in his eye turning somewhat sour as he looked over the blond Pincher. His words were just loud enough for Red Eyes to hear, and the blond man scowled as he dropped his hands.

"Anyway, Blue Eyes is…a valuable associate. It's very unlikely that you'll give her back without anything in return, so I'm offering a prisoner swap." He flicked his bangs out his face. "I'll give back your partner in return for Blue Eyes." I stiffened and Murph shot me a warning glance. When we had first made the trek to Amun's mansion, the PR representative had made it very clear that I was an open book when it came to Ben.

" _I know you two are partners and it's perfectly fine for you to care for each other like this, but the best thing to do is to control your emotions around those Pinchers," Murph said as we stepped around a wide-eyed Wooper. "The one in red and the one in blue will not only notice how protective you are of Ben, but they'll also use it against you. You have to be the master poker player in those kinds of situations."_

While Murph's techniques as a former Ranger were questionable, it was obvious that he was a talented PR representative. It was hard to remember how intelligent the brunet was when he complained over tiny scrapes and bruises, but he could always be trusted to stand firm and stay realistic whenever the situation called for it.

Red Eyes's face was nonchalant, as if he hadn't noted my reaction to his proposal. "There's no way you can say no," he continued calmly. "It's decided. Meet me at Daybreak Ruins for the swap in an hour, but only you and Blue Eyes can be there for the exchange. If you bring anyone else with you," he trailed off, looking over his Control Gauntlet lazily, "I can't promise Ben's safety."

I bristled, but before I could recover my façade, Ukulele Pichu leapt forward, hissing and growling at Red Eyes. The blond Pincher recoiled in shock, but quickly recovered his composure. "You're saying that you want to go too, huh?" He stared pensively at the fuming Pokémon for a few seconds. "Fine," he said, addressing me. "Take your Pokémon with you. A ranger without a Pokémon is useless, after all." He laughed at the flash of anger that broke through Murph's mask. "Bring Blue Eyes to the designated location in an hour. Otherwise, Ben will have a nice  _interrogation_ to look forward to."

There was a devious expression on the Pincher's face, as if he was planning to do more than just interrogate Ben. Before I could say anything in return, he leapt onto his Z.Z Flier and took off, leaving Murph, Ukulele Pichu, and I spluttering in the dust. The PR representative stared after the Pincher for a few seconds before turning around to face me. "An hour is a good amount of time, but we have no idea what'll be waiting for you at Daybreak Ruins. I'll go get Blue Eyes so you can leave immediately," he said.

#######################################################

Blue Eyes was strangely demure as we entered the final chamber of Daybreak Ruins. The defiance and confidence she had exuded at the Wireless Tower had completely disappeared, and I almost wondered if Murph had given me the wrong Pincher.

A strange look had crossed her face each time a group of Pinchers tried to sabotage the prisoner swap and rescue her without forfeiting their control over Ben. It was obvious that she was touched by their efforts to save her, but I knew her pride was being torn apart as her subordinates continued to undermine the exchange.

Blue Eyes's stern expression had softened dramatically when the last group of Pinchers scurried away to safety. "The young ones are always the sweetest," she murmured, a distant look settling in her eyes. I was caught off guard by the tenderness of her voice, but the gentle expression on her face had quickly faded into annoyance. "What are you looking at?" she snapped. I flinched, but resisted the urge to look away. Blue Eyes's glare faltered and a defeated expression crossed her face. "Just hurry up already. Red Eyes is probably tired of waiting."

I pursed my lips and nodded, leading her out of the ruins. Her initial attempt to intimidate me had fallen flat, and it was obvious to both of us that I wasn't scared of her. The empty clearing puzzled me, and a quick glance in the Pincher's direction informed me that she was just as confused as I was. A scowl crossed Blue Eyes's face, but her expression quickly slackened in shock. "Is that an involith? I can't believe there'd be one here…" she stepped toward the stone monument, hand slightly outstretched. "Red Eyes must've known it was here…he wanted to kill two Pidgeys with one stone."

I winced at the harshness of the saying and glanced nervously at Ukulele Pichu, whose ears were swiveling back and forth. A troubled expression crossed his face as he scanned the surrounding area. I opened my mouth to call Blue Eyes back to my side, but before I could get a word out, a roar ripped through the clearing. The bolder beside me was smashed into pieces and I leapt back just as an enormous Pokémon rose to his full height. He released another powerful roar, nearly knocking Ukulele Pichu off his feet from the force of his voice.

"Entei!" Blue Eyes stared at the tan Pokémon, her shock quickly fading into anger. She took a bold step forward. "What do you think you're doing?" Ukulele Pichu and I quickly shared a nervous look; she knew she was speaking to a Legendary Volcano Pokémon, right?" Leaping out of nowhere like that—we have an important negotiation to attend to!" She stepped closer, eyes blazing. "You have no sense of—"

Entei released another roar, and Blue Eyes recoiled instinctively. Just as quickly as she retreated, she advanced again, her attention focused entirely on the Pokémon in front of her. "If you want a piece of me," she grit out, "I'll take you on with my Control Gauntlet…"

The Legendary Beast lunged forward just as I stepped in front of Blue Eyes.

#######################################################

My skin felt as if there were ants swarming all over my body. Entei's fire was unforgiving and brutal as he attacked me and my assist Pokémon. Blue Eyes crouched in the farthest corner of the clearing, shrinking back whenever the flames got too close to her. I grit my teeth and dodged another wave of fire. Ukulele Pichu alternated between deflecting fireballs and distracting Entei as I drew capture loops around the enraged Legendary Pokémon.

I narrowly sidestepped Entei's charge and cringed as the smell of burning hair filled the air. The skin on my arms prickled painfully and I briefly wondered if Nema had miraculously invented a burn cream for me. Another angry roar shook me back into reality and I barely avoided a stream of fire. Entei leapt at me as I tumbled to the ground and I raised my capture stylus.

My life flashed before my eyes—snippets of memories flooding my mind as the Legendary Pokémon advanced. Zenith's laughter rang in my ears as Aaron's voice filled my head. I remembered two faces smiling down at me, one familiar—the other blurry—before fading to white. Yellow filled my vision, and Ukulele Pichu stepped in front of me just as I brought my capture stylus down.

Entei stared at me as he closed his mouth and dropped his hackles. The fur on his shoulders relaxed and he stepped closer, batting away the bristling Pichu in front of him. His breath warmed my face as he leaned forward and sniffed my uniform. I dropped my capture stylus and raised a hand to him, watching in awe as he nuzzled my exposed palm. After a few seconds, he stepped back and raised his head to the sky. Entei roared and an orange emblem appeared above him.

Ukulele Pichu scrambled back into my lap, throwing his arms out in a defensive gesture. There was a mixture of uncertainty and fierce protectiveness in his eyes as the emblem above Entei's head disappeared and the Legendary Pokémon gazed down at the two of us. Several tense seconds passed before Entei turned his eyes away and raced across the clearing with a roar.

A tinny, robotic voice brought me back to reality and I hastily recorded Entei's emblem into Nema's sign program. I looked up when footsteps approached and saw Blue Eyes chewing on her lip. "Thank you for saving me," she said testily, looking away with a scowl. "At least, that's what I'd like to say, but you've also deprived me of a chance to prove myself."

She fidgeted under my gaze for a few seconds and eyed me warily when Ukulele Pichu leapt off my lap and I rose to my feet. "I know you're capable of great things," I said slowly, "but greater things can come into being if you let others help you." A shadowy face flickered through my head as I brushed off my shorts. "If we are divided, all will fail."

Blue Eyes was silent as I dusted off my clothes and helped Ukulele Pichu fix the strap on his instrument. I glanced at her, but before I could say anything, a humming noise filled the clearing and three Z.Z Fliers descended. Red Eyes stepped off of his vehicle and his two subordinates lowered the fourth Z.Z Flier—a familiar looking blue hovercraft—onto the floor of the ruins.

"I'm impressed, Ranger," Red Eyes said, crossing his arms. "You made Entei leave his involith unprotected." He gestured to the Pinchers standing behind him. "Get the involith while I do the exchange." I clenched my fists as one of his subordinates approached the monument and pulled out his Control Gauntlet. If only I had stepped in front of it in time…

A movement behind Red Eyes distracted me and I stared as Ben stepped into my line of vision. He glanced uneasily at Red Eyes, whose attention was focused solely on the blue-eyed woman beside me. "On my signal, both hostages will be released at the same time. And no funny business," Red Eyes warned, raising an arm into the air. "One…two…three…go!"

Ben and Blue Eyes sprinted across the clearing the second Red Eyes dropped his hand. Ben skidded to a stop beside me just as Red Eyes's subordinates stepped around Blue Eyes protectively. I cocked an eyebrow at my partner and he smiled apologetically. "Sorry for being so much trouble," Ben murmured.

"Don't worry about it," I whispered back. "We'll talk later." I turned my attention back to the Pinchers, who seemed to be having their own little reunion on the other side of the ruins.

"Red Eyes…" Blue Eyes stared at the ground, shifting on the balls of her feet. "I caused a lot of trouble, didn't I?" She chewed on her bottom lip and kicked at the ground absent-mindedly.

Red Eyes's expression softened and he pressed his forehead against hers briefly. "Don't worry about it," he said. "It wasn't a big deal." His tone was soft and reassuring—something I hadn't expected from the arrogant man dressed in red. His gaze hardened when he looked across the clearing and met my eyes. "The swap went as planned," he called out coolly. "After seeing that we've gotten what we'd come for…" His smirk was devious as he and his fellow Pinchers stepped onto their respective Z.Z Fliers. "It's about time for us to take our leave. We'll likely see you again—that is, if you can stay in one piece for that long."

Four Electrodes appeared on the ground before me in a flash of red light. Red Eyes tucked his pokéballs away and saluted mockingly at me as Ben and I stepped away from the glowing Pokémon. "Have fun, Rangers!" he called as each Electrode self-destructed and the world around us faded to white.

#######################################################

When my vision cleared, Ukulele Pichu was brushing off his fur and Ben was coughing dust out of his lungs. "You okay?" Ben asked, wiping his mouth.

I looked myself over, checking for any bruises and cuts. "More or less," I said, noting the minor burns on my arms and wrists. "That explosion was more superficial than I thought it would be." Compared to the damage that had totaled Big Booker Bridge, it almost seemed as if Red Eyes's Electrodes had limited their explosive potential.  _Could it be?_  There was the possibility that he had released the Electrodes as a front—a show for the Pinchers he had brought with him. Blue Eyes seemed much closer to her subordinates than Red Eyes did, and it was likely that he didn't trust his underlings nearly as much as she did hers. Red Eyes had also looked fairly relieved when he saw that Blue Eyes had suffered no external beatings, so if anything, it lessened the chance that he had sent out his Electrodes as an attack rather than a feint.

As possible as it was, it was also highly improbable that Red Eyes would belittle himself to working with such underhanded methods. Even from the few encounters that I had with him, it was easy to deduce how prideful he was. It was just too hard to believe that he would fake an attack as a thank-you for returning Blue Eyes (for the most part) unharmed.

"I think we were just lucky," Ben replied, grimacing as he breathed in a lungful of dust. "He's pretty charming, isn't he?" My lips thinned into a flat smile, but I couldn't help smiling when Ben hugged me. "I'm back, Crimson."

"Welcome back." I squeezed his waist and his arms tightened around my shoulders. After a few seconds, he stepped back, dropping his hands to his sides. The look in his eyes was chilling.

"Thank you for protecting me from his plasma cannon," Ben said. "I…should've been the one to take it, though."

My blood turned cold. "Ben," I started, pursing my lips when he looked away. "Ben—it's not your fault. I  _chose_  to fly in front of you. I…" I swallowed nervously.  _I wanted to protect you_. "I know you would've done the same for me," I whispered, wrapping my arms loosely around myself. "If you had fallen out of the sky like I did…I don't think I could've forgiven myself. If you fell…"  _I would've jumped right after you._

Ben stared at me and I nearly shrunk away from the somber expression on his face. "When I heard the Pinchers talking about how you survived," he hesitated and let out a dry laugh, "I was so relieved. I thought I lost you when you fell. I thought..." He squeezed his forearm, a distressed look crossing his face. "I thought you _died_  for me, and I-I knew I couldn't live with myself if that was true." He looked up at me, his brown eyes pained and vulnerable. "Crimson, I—"

_Twang_. The tension in the air snapped and we turned to stare at Pichu, who was sending sparks of electricity through his ukulele. He lifted his big, black eyes to us curiously before returning to his instrument and fiddling with the strings. Ben stared at the yellow Pokémon before cocking an eyebrow at me.

"So…who's the little guy?"

#######################################################

Thirteen minutes later, Entei dropped Ben, Ukulele Pichu, and I off at the edge of Tilt Village and disappeared with a roar. Needless to say, we received quite a few stares from the villagers, half of whom were muttering Entei's song under their breaths. Ben grinned at me and scooped Ukulele Pichu into his arms before two of us began running towards Big Booker Bridge. A familiar, round man walked out into the road in front of us and turned his head curiously in our direction.

"Wait—is that—" Ben skidded to a stop just as the PR representative's jaw dropped. "MURPH?!"

"BEN!" The heavyset brunet tackled my partner to the ground, completely oblivious to the Pichu sandwiched between himself and Ben. "You're okay! I'm so glad! You had me worried half to death!" Murph rose to his feet, hugging Ben tightly to his chest and lifting the ranger clear off the ground. "Oh, I'm so  _happy_  to see you again!"

_You were worried?_ I thought mildly as Murph swung Ben from side to side. Wasn't he the one who assured me that Ben would be fine in the first place? I stepped forward to break up the love-fest, but Ukulele Pichu's thundershock separated the two men first.

Murph shrieked and Ben's arms flew upward when the yellow Pokémon released his electricity. Seething, Ukulele Pichu hid behind my leg and glared at his two victims as they tried to regain their composure. Murph cleared his throat and Ben glanced apologetically at my leg before turning to the PR representative.

"What are you doing here in Oblivia, Murph? Did Professor Hastings finally get tired of your whining?" Ben teased.

"Excuuuuse me!" Murph huffed. "I came here on a  _mission_ , thank you very much! Professor Hastings sent me here on the Union!"

"The Union?" Ben frowned. "I thought it retired years ago!"

"It is retired," Murph said. "But that doesn't mean that retirees can't work anymore!" He was oblivious to Ben's cringe as he looked in the direction of the dock. "She's such a beauty! Booker really outdid himself when he made her. Oh, speaking of Booker, he managed to repair to bridge, so you can just walk over there now. Rand's probably expecting a report from you, so," Murph saluted and grinned broadly. "Murph, Man of the Sea, will meet you on the other side!"


	5. The Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When tempers run high between Murph and Crimson, team dynamics start to fall apart and suddenly everyone needs a dose of self-confidence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warning: T  
> Warnings: A big helping of angst and self-hate. Keep tissues on hand.  
> Word Count: ~4800  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any spin-offs associated with the franchise.  
> Additional Notes: Blond = Male. Blonde = Female. Brunet = Male. Brunette = Female. I am also aware that the capturing device is known as a Styler, but I will refer to it as a "stylus" in this story. All Legendary Beasts and Ukulele Pichu will be referred to as "he" in order to make things easier. Thanks! I'm actually getting a lot done on these chapters than initially expected, so I'll be updating these more frequently (maybe once every two weeks now?)

"Welcome back, Crimson." Rand stood at the head of the table, smiling politely as Ben entered the room behind me. "And this must be Ben, I presume. This is my wife, Leanne, and my daughter, Nema." He gestured to the blue-haired woman at his side before nodding over in Nema's direction.

"Nice to meet you, Ben!" Nema greeted, rushing forward to meet him. I smiled when I saw her eyes were glued onto his wrist. "You can leave all your stylus maintenance to me!" Ben glanced nervously in my direction before turning his attention back to the blue-eyed girl who was trying to tug his capture stylus off his arm. His hand immediately covered the bite-shaped scar on his wrist when she finally unclasped the device and he hastily tugged his glove over his pebbled skin.

"Umm, Nema, right?" Ben asked nervously. "You can fix my stylus?" He relaxed an iota when I stepped closer to him and squeezed his scarred wrist.

"Fix it?" Nema looked up from his stylus, a taken-aback expression on her face. "I'll do more than fix it; I'll  _improve_ it! I'll be done in five minutes!" With a determined huff, she raced into her room and I couldn't help but smile when Ben winced every time he heard a hammer go down. I squeezed his wrist again and he glanced warily at me before looking over in Rand's direction.

"While Nema is working on my stylus, I'd like to report on what happened while I was held captive," Ben said. Rand's eyes flickered down to where my hand was wrapped around Ben's wrist and I resisted the urge to pull away. Wordlessly, the older ranger's gaze traveled over me before landing on Ben's face.

"All right. What do you have to report?"

"I was blindfolded as soon as we landed," Ben said. "My Staraptor was taken away by the Pinchers and my hands were bound by the time they started leading me away. They took me through a narrow, metal hallway before pushing me into another room. I attached a tracking device as soon as I realized I was alone and I spent a few hours familiarizing myself with my surroundings. I couldn't see anything while I was in there, but I knew I was in a small, metal room surrounded by boxes and crates. Red Eyes didn't take off the blindfold until we were hovering above Daybreak Ruins, so I didn't get to see where they'd been holding me captive. I'm sure the tracking device is still in place, but they broke my stylus, so until Nema's done with my stylus, we're stuck with nothing."

"What a horrible time for the Wireless Tower to be broken," Murph moaned from the corner he had been lounging in. "Professor Hastings told me before I left that the tracking device would notify the Ranger Union immediately upon usage. He must be worried sick right now! The Union's transmitter is broken and none of the styluses can communicate with him…"

"The Wireless Tower should be completed in the next few days," Rand reassured him. "And if we're expecting back-up, they should have arrived by now. Seeing that there are no more rangers being sent to Oblivia, it's safe to assume that he thinks that we can handle whatever's coming at us right now."

"I sure hope so," Murph mumbled.

Nema reentered the room with a proud, satisfied expression on her face. She handed Ben his capture stylus, smirking smugly as he took in the repaired device. "This looks brand new!" He glanced curiously at her as he tugged his wrist from my hand and slipped his stylus back into place. "What exactly did you do to it?"

"I unlocked some modification functions, fixed the broken circuits, and did some other tweaking here and there," Nema replied nonchalantly. "You'll be able to supercharge captures now, so it'll be easier to perform s-rank captures."

Ben stared at his stylus before smiling broadly at her. "That's amazing; thank you." He turned back to Rand, who was watching the exchange bemusedly. "The Pinchers didn't think to speak quietly while I was captured, so I also learned some important information about their next course of action. They were talking about how the preparations for seizing Moltres were proceeding."

"The Pinchers are going after Moltres?" Rand echoed.

"But what for?" Leanne pressed.

"I don't know," Ben said, "but we can figure it out as soon as my stylus recalibrates and relocates the tracking device." He tapped the screen of his capture stylus and scrolled through his archives. "It'll take me a few seconds to reboot everything…" Nema stepped closer as Ben fiddled with his capture stylus, watching with wide eyes as he checked opened and closed a variety of folders.

"While Ben is looking for the tracking device's coordinates," Leanne said, "I'd like to share what I've managed to decode from Amun's book. The part I've managed to translate talks about these mysterious emblems—or involiths—that have been left behind on monuments. Supposedly, these were left by the Hero of Oblivia and are the keys to opening the ancient gates."

"Ancient gates?" Murph echoed, frowning thoughtfully.

"I'm not exactly sure by what Amun means, but I have hunch that those involiths have something to do with Moltres," Rand said slowly. "Crimson told me that the Pinchers left with part of the monument in Rasp Cavern. She said that they only took the part of that had a figure carved into it." He glanced over in Leanne's direction. "Did Amun's book say anything about where Moltres can be found?"

"Not in anything that I've managed to read so far," she replied. "It'll take me a few more hours—if not the rest of the night—until I decode the entire book."

"Well, Crimson and I will trust you to that," Ben said, looking up from his stylus. "The tracking device just sent me its coordinates, and by the looks of it, they haven't changed yet. If we're lucky, we'll find the Pinchers before they capture Moltres."

Rand nodded in agreement. "You will leave at once."

#######################################################

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked. Ben paced the deck of the Union, his thermal blanket hanging off of one shoulder and dragging on the ground behind him. Although our ranger suits were created to keeping us warm, Oblivia's southern waters required full-body wetsuits that we didn't access to. Both of us were still chilled from our unexpected swim, but thankfully Rand had convinced Murph to bring a few thermal blankets for us just in case.

"I'm fine," Ben grit out. "It's just…What would possess her to crash the submarine like that? If we hadn't regained consciousness in time, Blue Eyes and her subordinates would've died."  _Along with you, me, and all the pinched Pokémon they abandoned in the ship,_  I thought. It had been a relief when Murph sailed over and picked us up on the Union, but the fact that Blue Eyes was nowhere to be seen was disconcerting.

"Maybe it was a last ditch effort to take out the rangers," Murph said, walking over with two steaming mugs in hand. He passed one to Ben before handing me the other. "Anyway, I don't think we'll be able to stop at Dolce Island to drop off all the Pokémon if we want to make it back to Mitonga in one piece. We should head back to Tilt Village and report to Rand before trying to fix the Union."

"It probably would've been better if you let one of us steer," Ben joked, a faint smile crossing his face. The tension in the air decreased significantly as the brunet ranger pulled the blanket over his shoulders and settled onto the floor of the deck. One of Dolce Island's Pichu settled into his lap, peering into his mug curiously. "I wonder what Blue Eyes wanted to tell us when we got that crate off of her."

"Maybe she wanted to apologize?" Murph suggested.

"I'm not so sure she'd do that. I'm pretty sure she wanted to kill us by crashing the submarine." Ben lowered his mug and smiled when the Pichu in his lap curled around the warm beverage. The gesture never reached his eyes.

"She's not like that." Ben and Murph looked up at me. "She's not who you think she is," I said slowly, tracing the rim of my cup. "She's not who she makes herself out to be. Something must've happened for her to do something that drastic. I don't think she would've done what she did otherwise."

Murph leveled his gaze at me, a warning glint in his eye. "You trust her; you trust a Pincher?" he asked."Did something happen at Daybreak Ruins that I need to hear about?"

A wave of anger crashed over me. "I trust people," I said, "and I believe that Blue Eyes was never truly a criminal to begin with." The face she had made in Daybreak Ruins when her subordinates gave their all to retrieve her was proof enough of how kind she really was. "And nothing happened. I just don't think she was fully aware of what she was doing."

Ben and Murph were silent and I stared at my mug. It stung to think that Murph questioned my loyalty to the Ranger Union, especially when he trained me himself. "It only takes one person to change someone, Crimson." Murph's voice was low, soothing, even. "You know it never goes well when a ranger takes a mission too personally."

"You're telling that to me now?" I slammed my mug onto the bench beside me. "This mission became personal the second they shot me out of the sky. This mission became personal the moment they took Ben prisoner. This _mission_  became personal  _before_  the swap happened and  _before_  the submarine crash." I stood and glared at Murph. "You can send a complaint to the Ranger Union as soon as the Wireless Tower is fixed," I hissed, "but you know _damn well_  that I'm the best ranger for the job and the moment you send me home this entire mission is finished. The Pinchers will have Oblivia and the Paladin Initiative will have been nothing but a complete waste of time."

I threw my thermal blanket onto the space where I had been sitting and stalked to the back of the Union. My blood was boiling by the time I settled against the wooden railing, and I forced myself to take a few deep breaths. I couldn't believe Murph even  _considered_  removing me from this mission. Ben had been captured for the majority of his time in Oblivia, and I was the only ranger in the area who was both capable and familiar enough with the region to take on the Pinchers. Dismissing me from this mission would be like handing the Pinchers Oblivia on a golden platter.

"Hey." Ben leaned against the wooden railing beside me, his eyes concerned and gentle. My cheeks blazed with self-disgust and humiliation—I hadn't even heard him walk over. "Do you want to talk?"

I stared at him; was he really expecting me to open up after what had just happened?

"All right then, I'll talk." He leaned back and rested his elbows on the wooden railing. "I don't know if you've realized this, but you've changed a lot, Crimson," he said. "When we were back in the Ranger Union, you were always quieter and more cautious than I was. You always left the capture to me. You always waited for me to take the first step, even when you were more qualified than I was to take on the challenge. But now you're taking your own steps and you're walking your path. You're bolder, more straightforward, and just a lot more confident. I think the reason why Murphacted the way he did was because he's probably blinded by the timid, quiet, obedient Crimson that he used to know.

"I think he's scared that you're changing so much. Of course, this is a shock to me too—I never knew there was this side to you too." Ben chuckled softly, but it was a bittersweet, almost nostalgic sound. "I think he's having a hard time getting used to the fact that you don't need to lean on him as much as you used to. That you're more confident in your own ability and that you don't need either of us," he gestured to himself and the PR representative standing at the bow of the ship, "to back you up anymore."

"Is it—is it bad that I'm different?" Ben glanced at me as I wrapped my arms around myself. "Is it so bad that I've changed?"

"Of course not," Ben whispered. "I'm proud of you, Crimson. You've just discovered another piece of yourself and I think that Murph just needs time to realize that you've grown into someone that doesn't need to depend on him anymore." He smiled softly at me and pulled the blanket off of his shoulders. "When we were at the Ranger Union and taking missions," Ben said, wrapping the thermal fabric around me, "Murph would always stop me in the hallway and ask me how you were doing. You've always been his favorite, Crimson. It's just hard for him to stomach the fact that you've grown up." Ben patted my shoulder reassuringly before making his way back to the ship. "You should talk to him after we report back to Rand. Although you'd probably disagree," Ben said over his shoulder, "this is much harder for him than it is for you."

#######################################################

I shifted nervously from one foot to the other as Murph read over Blue Eyes's letter. Ben had already excused himself to go catch up with Booker and Nick, who were putting the finishing touches on the newly-repaired Union. The PR representative's face was stony as he folded the letter and returned it to its envelope. "That settles it, then," he said stiffly. "We need to head to Faldera Volcano immediately to intervene with whatever Red Eyes is plotting." He tucked the letter into his pocket and stepped toward the Union.

"Murph." I swallowed nervously when he glanced at me. It was unnerving to see him with such a cold, aloof look on his face. "I'm…sorry for snapping at you earlier. And nothing really did happen between Blue Eyes and me at Daybreak Ruins. It's just that when we were ambushed by her subordinates, she had this look on her face and—" I stared at my feet. I was terrified to look at Murph. "She's not as cold-hearted as you think she is. A true criminal would never care so much about her subordinates and—"

"I get it, Crimson." Murph's voice was quiet and neutral. I steeled myself and looked up to meet his eyes. "This letter was proof enough that I had the wrong impression of her." A wry smile crossed his face. "Or rather, that I had the impression she wanted me to have." He pursed his lips. "I'm sorry for threatening to take you off the mission. I thought you were being tricked or that you—" he sucked in a deep breath, obviously uncomfortable with his next few words, "—weren't as loyal to the Ranger Union as I thought you were. But even when I thought these things, part of me was upset that I even questioned your dedication. Anyone can see that you're loyal to the Ranger Union. I don't know why—"

His words broke off when I hugged him. His arms came down around my shoulders and he squeezed me tightly. We stayed like that for several minutes, reinforcing the bond between us. It was difficult to describe the different emotions I felt as we held each other, but I understood that it was our silent way of forgiving and apologizing to one another. Murph was still Murph and I was just a slightly different Crimson in the same skin.

As time dragged on, the hug became more and more awkward, and Murph finally stepped away. "Well, it's time to get going. I should check up with Booker to see if the Union is ready to set sail again." He squeezed my shoulder before making his way over to the shipbuilders. Ben stepped aside to let Murph pass and cocked an eyebrow at me.

I smiled and mouthed 'thank you'. A grin crossed Ben's face and his eyes softened as he glanced over his shoulder at the PR representative. Murph was now an irreplaceable link in the team dynamic, and any tension between teammates had the potential of compromising the entire mission. He was just as invaluable as Ben or I.

#######################################################

Ben was pacing again. I watched him from the corner of my eye, but most of my attention was trained on Leanne, who had spread out of her research notes on the Articuno rug in the living room. The blue-haired woman worked like a well oiled machine; one hand flipped through Amun's book at a steady pace while the other worked on circling, underlining, and crossing out various handwritten bullet points.

Nema stepped out of her bedroom a few minutes later, Ben's stylus in hand. She glanced worriedly in his direction before tucking the gadget in her lab coat and sidling up next to me. "He's not going to break his stylus when I hand it too him, right?" she whispered nervously. "Because I had to spend at least ten minutes digging for a new screen to replace the one Red Eyes broke."

"He won't do that," I reassured her. "I'll take it to him if you don't want to." Nema handed me his stylus warily before skittering over to her mom's side. I glanced down at Ben's device before stifling a sigh. The brunet had been a bundle of nerves ever since we returned from Faldera Volcano. We hadn't been fast enough to stop the Pinchers from waking Moltres, and to make matters worse, Red Eyes had snapped Ben's stylus for the second time. I knew Ben was upset about his stylus and losing Moltres to the Pinchers, but he had looked positively  _livid_  when Rand brushed off his concerns about why the Legendary Bird had been awakened but not pinched.

"You're going to ruin their floorboards if you keep doing that." Ben looked up when I spoke and covered his face with a groan.

"I'm sorry; I can't help it." He lowered his hands with a sniff and glanced at the stylus in my hand. "Did Nema fix it already?"

"It took her a lot longer than before." I glanced at the clock. "Rand's been on patrol with Burkhart for at least twenty minutes now."

" _Twenty minutes_?" Ben's eyes widened and he slumped against the wall, stunned with disbelief. "I've been pacing for  _twenty minutes_?"

"You've also managed to scare Nema with that frown of yours," I said, tapping the skin between my eyebrows. The crease in Ben's brow disappeared with his surprise, but quickly returned when he shot an apologetic glance in the blue-eyed girl's direction. "Let's step out for a few minutes. You look like you need it," I added when he opened his mouth to object. He flushed and hastily told Leanne that we were going to get some fresh air.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the front of Rand's house as Ben stepped off the porch. "What's wrong, Ben?" I asked quietly.

"Nothing—I'm just upset that Red Eyes managed to catch me off guard again." Ben didn't meet my gaze, choosing instead stare at the yellow patch of grass at his feet. "Otherwise, I'm just a little tired. Chasing down Pinchers, trying to protect Moltres, dodging plumes of fire—I'm surprised I haven't passed out yet." He chuckled, but the act sounded forced and hollow.

I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. There was a haunted, bitter look peeking out from behind his smile. "Ben," I said, "please. I want to help you."

His hand flew to his scarred wrist, tugging at the fabric of his gloves. "There's nothing wrong with me, Crimson," he said stiffly. "I'm just a little tired."

"I don't like it when you lie to me, Ben." He tucked his scarred wrist behind his back and my gaze rose to his face. I pushed off the wall and stepped toward him, tugging his wrist out from behind him. A flash of resentment and suspicion crossed his face, and a wave of bitterness crashed over me when I realized he didn't trust me. "I just want to help," I whispered, wrapping my hands around his. "Please let me in."

Ben was quiet for a few seconds before he took a ragged, heavy breath. He leaned his forehead against mine, staring at our hands as he spoke. "I feel useless," he choked out. "I always manage to break my stylus before I can perform any captures, and Staraptor and I can barely keep up with you whenever we're chasing down the Pinchers." His fingers twitched as he ducked his head. "I always have to depend on you or Rand to take care of the situation, and heck, even Murph is doing more than I am right now. I feel like all I've managed to do is stare at your back and watch you take on the world while I hide somewhere safe and out of way."

My throat tightened and I squeezed his hands. "Then you know exactly how I felt for the past year," I croaked. Ben's brown eyes flickered to my face, wide with shock. "I've always been looking at your back, Ben. When I woke up on Dolce Island and realized I was alone, I was terrified. I had no idea whether or not you were alive." I let out a breathless laugh. "When I started performing solo captures, I always saw you from the corner of my eye. You would move, I would copy you, and the capture would be finished." I pressed my forehead harder against his, taking comfort in his warmth. "I spent so much time trying to catch to you that I didn't realize that each step I took forward was a step I took away from you.

"I don't want you to look at my back, Ben," I whispered. "I want you to stand by my side, step by step." I looked up at him, taking in the rosy flush on his cheeks. "Let's take down the Pinchers together," I said.

Ben was silent for a few moments before a wide, familiar grin slid onto his face. "They won't know what hit 'em," he whispered.

#######################################################

It was frustrating how the Pinchers were always one step ahead of us. As we lost Legendary after Legendary to the Pinchers, I finally understood why my former senior ranger had stressed timing in every instance. The difference of a minute—a few seconds, even—could shift events into playing into each side's favor. So when Suicune attacked Ben and me in a blind rage, half of me wanted to send Ben after Articuno and protect it before the Pinchers arrived. The other, rational half of me advised against it. If I was unable to calm Suicune down or if my stylus broke mid-capture, there was a likely chance that I wouldn't make it out of Sophian Ruins alive.

So I bit my lip and accepted the fact that the Pinchers had won this battle. There were more pressing matters at hand and grueling over the fact that the criminal organization had been able to outsmart us was more of a distraction than a necessity. Suicune's capture was much more difficult than Entei's or Raikou's—the legendary beast had flown into a rage after the Pinchers destroyed his involith—and Ben and I both had cuts and bruises once he descended into a slightly calmer, yet still agitated, state of mind.

The ride back over to Aqua Resort was a painful affair. Ben and I were already sore from riding Raikou around the segmented remains of the Sophian Ruins, and sitting on a much less sympathetic and a somewhat impatient Pokémon only made matters worse. Suicune leapt from place to place carelessly, as if deaf to our sharp intakes of breath and muffled whimpers. Ben had tucked his head against my shoulder in an attempt to gather his bearings and his arms tightened around my waist whenever Suicune transitioned from land to water.

But Arceus was merciful and we eventually stumbled on a familiar-looking clearing. I tugged on Suicune's mane and the legendary beast slowed to a stop, shifting impatiently as Ben and I slid off his back. He tossed his head when we thanked him and took off without a sound. Ben stretched, groaning as he tried to relieve the stress of riding on his body. After a few sharp cracks, he had finished popping his stiff joints and was checking over Ukulele Pichu, who had been sitting on my lap for the entire ride.

"Should we head back to the Aqua Resort?" I asked. Part of our decision to explore Sophian Ruins was to find Weber, the man responsible for weaving Leanne's Articuno rug, and seeing that we were unable to find him, the only logical conclusion was that he had already returned to his home and we had missed him as we chased after Suicune and the Pinchers.

"Sure," Ben said. "We should ask around to see if Weber—"

"Help!" Both of our heads shot up and we searched the clearing. Ben grabbed my shoulder and nodded to the island across the river. A middle-aged man waved frantically from where he stood, eyebrows knitted with worry.

Ben frowned and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Would you happen to be Weber?" he called across the water.

"You know who I am?" The man's face lit up with surprise. "Yes, I am Weber. I've been making rugs for the past thirty years!" He looked around himself and a sheepish expression crossed his face. "Well, as great as it is that you know me," he started, "could you help me out of here? I was trying to protect Suicune and then I just lost track of where I was."

"Of course," Ben said. "We'll be there as soon as we can." He looked at the stylus in my hand and made a reluctant face. "Do we have to?" he whispered, glancing nervously at Weber.

"I can go pick him up," I said, starting up sign mode. "But either way, we'll have to ride Suicune back to Aqua Resort. You might as well just get on for the ride." Ben's face soured and I shot him a sympathetic smile before summoning Suicune.

#######################################################

Third Person – Ben

He hadn't realized how powerless he had been until Red Eyes snapped his stylus for the second time. The Pincher had watched him fall to his knees before the broken device, a mocking smirk on his face as Ben gathered up the remains of his only weapon. It was daunting to realize that he was useless to the mission—to any missions until his stylus was fixed. Sure, Nema would have to it looking like brand new in a matter of minutes, but that would have to wait until he returned to Reinbow Island.

He was trapped on Faldera Volcano with nothing but a useless stylus and a Staraptor half-dead with exhaustion.

Crimson took a defensive stance in front of him, her chin raised boldly at Red Eyes. Ben wished for a brief moment that Red Eyes had broken  _her_  stylus and that  _Ben_  could be the one protecting her. But after that thought sunk into his mind, a wave of guilt crashed over him. How could he be so selfish? It was his own fault that his stylus had been broken again, and he was half-insane for wishing that Crimson was the defenseless one—the damsel in distress.

He hated feeling powerless. It reminded him of how cruel and unforgiving he had been as a child who only knew how to hurt those who hurt him. As if to make matters worse, his scar was throbbing, and he found it harder and harder to push down his own self-loathing. He hated himself in this moment, more than he had ever hated himself, and the fact that he was saving his ass while Crimson was being charbroiled by Red Eyes's Charizard made him even angrier.

He had become a ranger to save others. But what was the value of a ranger who couldn't even save himself?


End file.
